


The Ice-Lanced Heart

by melonnaise



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Actual fairy!Yuri, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, Fairy Yuri Plisetsky, Fluff and Crack, Humor, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Yuri Plisetsky, Otabek is a knight, Sexual Tension, Victor is the fairiest fairy to have ever fairied, Yuri is not amused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:10:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9649247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melonnaise/pseuds/melonnaise
Summary: The AU where the Hero and the Fairy are, quite literally, a hero (heroic Knight Commander) and a fairy. And Victor is a legendary fairy reduced to a love-struck teenager. It's not far from canon, all things considered.





	1. Pretty Erotic Eye Contact

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by and based off the fantastic novel "The Lightning-Struck Heart" by T.J. Klune. That book is hilarious and incredibly heartwarming - which is what I hope this fic will be, too. I hope you enjoy xx

Yuri Plisetsky fucking hates Victor Nikiforov.

 

Oh but Yuri, you’ve gotta come of age first, he says. You have to be fully ready before you take on the advanced sessions, he says. And then when Yuri _finally_ has come of age, what does Victor do? Fucking disappear, that’s what. To gods know where. Gone. Just like that. _Poof._

 

What an asshole.

 

And of course it came down to no one else’s responsibility other than _Yuri_ to go find him – because not only is Victor the most powerful freaking fairy in all of Folkland, but he is also Yuri’s mentor. And he has promised – he _promised –_ that he would teach Yuri everything when ‘the time has come’. Well, guess what, Victor, that time is _now_ and Victor has no right to be vanishing when Yuri is finally embarking on his path to become the Strongest Fairy Ever and kick Victor off his stupid flower-and-ice seat on the Council.

 

Did he mention that Victor Nikiforov is also the Vice President of the Fair Folk Council? No? Well, he is. And a really fucking irresponsible one at that.

 

Because fairy vice presidents do _not_ just disappear and leave a shit load of mess for their apprentices to pick up. It is rude, and it is irresponsible, and if Yuri has to hear another fairy cry about how it’s so _sad_ that Victor is gone, Yuri will cut a bitch.

 

Fucking Victor Nikiforov.

 

Yuri blames him for everything.

 

Including how Yuri has managed to get himself captured by some dumb humans who decided that Yuri would make a perfect pretty little package that would sell for a fortune in the black market. They’re not wrong, of course – Yuri knows what he looks like. He’s _pretty_ – exceedingly so, with platinum blonde hair and emerald green eyes and an androgynous beauty in his heart-shaped face and slim body. The elven ears? Tick. And the fairy glow that makes his skin luminescent? Double tick. They’re not wrong about the fact that his value would be colossal. But even so, Yuri doesn’t appreciate being treated like some sort of property. Especially by _humans;_ with their magic-binding shackles and their body odour, and not to mention the _sweat._ Ugh. Gods, Yuri wouldn’t have even been wondering around the humans’ port in the first place if he weren’t looking for Victor.

 

So yes, Yuri fucking hates Victor Nikiforov and this is all his fault.

 

“Aww, look at this one’s scowl. Looks like a pissed off kitty,” says one of the humans surrounding Yuri’s cage. The human leans in close to the bars, grinning widely, “Aren’t you a pretty one, huh?”

 

“I’ll claw off your face,” Yuri hisses.

 

“Kinky,” he whistles. The humans laugh.

 

Yuri swears under his breath. If only they didn’t manage to bind his magic with these stupid shackles, these humans would already be frozen in ice. And Yuri will happily proceed to disconnect their heads from their spine with a swift roundhouse kick.

 

He needs to think. His hands are shackled, but even if he manages to break the wrist shackles with pure force the collar on his neck will still bind his magic. And he might also break his wrist bones, which would be highly inconvenient. Scrap Plan A, then. The cage itself looks fragile enough – it’s made of wood, not iron, because the humans don’t want to burn his skin; any taints or marks will reduce his value. Yuri can easily break out of it when he wants to. His appearance is an advantage in these situations because everyone underestimates how strong he is. Even without his magic, Yuri has been trained in combat since childhood.

 

So, Plan B, he breaks out of the cage. Then what? His magic is going to be bound still. He won’t be able to make it very far without. He can hide his ears and dull down his fairy glow, but the humans will definitely notice the anti-magic collar. But what choice does he have?

 

No. Yuri. Think. What did Victor say about impulsivity and how it reduces effectiveness? There are always possibilities for a better plan. Think, Yuri, you need to-

 

“Hey, you have a scheming look on your face, princess,” says Number Two of the four humans. Ugh. ‘Princess’. Yuri hates it when people call him that. “You better not be planning something funny.”

 

Yuri scoffs, “Like your face?”

 

The other humans laugh, apart from No. 2 who growls and kicks at his cage. “Oi. Shut your dumb mouth, fairy, or I’ll stuff it with something awful.”

 

“Wouldn’t you like that?” Yuri sneers, “Fancy putting it in a fairy’s mouth? At least we both agree that it’s awful. Your cock, that is.”

 

“You little-” No. 2 looks like he’s about to strangle him. Which, technically, he won’t be able to because Yuri is still wearing their damn collar.

 

“Calm down,” Human Number 3 says to No. 2, who is practically frothing. “It’s only running its mouth ‘cus it’s too weak to do anything else.”

 

Wrong. So wrong. Yuri tries not to roll his eyes. It’s not that he doesn’t have a choice, he’s only _planning_ _a better escape_ like a good apprentice to the goddamn Vice President of the Fair Folk. Because good apprentices do not make rash decisions based on anger towards human assholes. Good apprentices _think_ and then come up with a thorough, well-structured escape plan. Good apprentices-

 

“Yeah, c’mon, look at its tiny waist. Looks like it’ll break in half if you fuck it too hard,” says human No. 4.

 

“That’s part of the appeal, no?” says No. 1, licking his lips. “Breaking a fairy would be pretty fun.”

 

Yuri grits his teeth. _Good apprentices, Yuri. Remember what Victor said-_

 

“I thought the main appeal is that it’s pretty,” No. 3 says.

 

“Well, duh. No shit,” No. 1 says, shrugging.

 

“It’s got a mouth on it though, for sure,” No. 2 says, reaching through the cage bars to grab at Yuri’s chin. He leers, “Even though it does have lips made for dick.”

 

_-you know what? Fuck what Victor said. Fuck Victor. This is all his fault anyways._

 

Yuri jerks his chin away from No. 2 before he grabs onto the human’s wrist with both hands. He snarls, “Don’t fucking touch me.”

 

No. 2 smirks, “Aw, princess, what are you gonna-”

 

No. 2 breaks off in a high-pitched scream when Yuri breaks his wrist with a satisfying crunch. The other three humans immediately stand to come to his help but it’s already too late. Yuri kicks at the wooden bars with both legs, feeling them splint and break under his heels. He then swings himself out from the cage and smacks No. 2’s head against the wooden edges for good measure. No. 2 groans pathetically as he goes down.

 

Good.

 

No. 1 follows soon after, Yuri kneeing him in the groin before elbowing him up the throat. He croaks and falls to the floor, coughing and spluttering, face tight in pain. Serves him right, he was gross. Yuri hopes he’s caused some permanent damage to his manhood.

 

“Get the iron rods!” No. 3 is yelling at No. 4.

 

Oh crap. Iron is bad. That’s how they got Yuri in the first place. Even the strongest fairies are not immune to pure iron. Just being in close proximity to it makes Yuri dizzy.

 

As much as Yuri would like to teach the other two humans a lesson and break another bone or two, he abandons the idea and starts running instead. The time lag between them finding the iron and chasing after him will give Yuri enough time to escape.

 

So he runs, barefooted (because those assholes took his shoes), silver shackles and collar heavy on his limbs as he leaps and jumps his ways through the streets. There’s a farmer’s market happening, and he pushes his way through the crowd, not caring about the glares people are sending his way. He can hear the men’s voices behind him, lots of shouting and yelling and metals clanking – _iron, iron, iron._ His mind shrieks at him in alarm. There are three, four, five, six footsteps- and the numbers are only getting bigger. He needs to run faster, he needs to be out of sight, he needs to find some place to-

 

“ _Shit!”_ Yuri curses when he steps directly on a shard of broken glass. He swears, hopping on one leg as he lifts his left foot and yanks the glass right out. It starts pouring with blood and Yuri presses on the wound with his palm. He closes his eyes and tries to reach for his magic and pull them towards the wound, thinking _heal_ and _clot_ and _close_ … until he realizes that there _is no pull._

Because fucking humans and their fucking enchanted anti-magic shackles fucking fuckers!

 

Yuri’s mind races as he scans the area. There’s a little alleyway that is obscure enough to hide him, so he hobbles his way through, still clutching at his bleeding foot. The voices are closer to him now, and Yuri leans his back against the wall, trying to obscure himself behind a stack of crates, holding his breath.

 

“Where the hell did it go?!”

 

“It definitely came this way!”

 

“It can’t have gotten far!”

 

“It must’ve gone out the main road – come on! Hurry!”

 

Yuri releases his breath as the voices slowly grow farther and farther away. He exhales and inhales deeply, gritting his teeth as he starts to move once more, dragging his bleeding foot behind. He needs to get back to the forest. Yakov will be able to get rid of the shackles and collar for him. Then Yuri can get his magic back and forget all about this very unfortunate and incredibly embarrassing experience. (Victor will tease him forever if he ever finds out and Yuri is far too Done with Victor as it is to tolerate any of that, thank you.)

 

All of a sudden, the light at the end of the alley is blocked off. There’s a shadow looming over Yuri, blocking his path.

 

 _What now?_ Yuri sighs, looking up-

 

-only to come face-to-face with the most gorgeous, most delicious, most attractive looking man Yuri has ever laid eyes on. Ever.

 

The man has broad shoulders, with a military undercut hairstyle and a jawline that can cut diamonds. His eyes are dark and more intense than any pair of eyes Yuri has ever met; especially when paired with sharp, full eyebrows drawn in a slight frown. His face is half-lit by the sunlight behind him, unfairly highlighting the angle of his nose, and the man is riding on a _horse_ of all things – jet black with a beautiful glossy mane that only serves to make the man look majestic as all hell.

 

“Get on,” The man says.

 

And, god, even his voice is all low and rumbly and _so_ nice. Damn.

 

“Huh?” Yuri blinks. _Is he talking to me? What is he even saying?_ Yuri’s too distracted by the way his lips move.

 

The man’s frown deepens. He reaches out a hand, palm up. “Come.”

 

“Uh.” Yuri says, intelligently.

 

There’s a crest on the man’s dark blue cloak. Yuri immediately recognizes it as the symbol of the King of Ecino – the human king. It is only then that Yuri notices that the man is wearing full armor. And he also carries a sword.

 

“You’re a knight,” Yuri says, eyes wide.

 

“Yes,” the man nods. Then, flatly, “You’re a fairy.”

 

“Uh. Yeah.” Is this going somewhere? Like, Yuri knows where he _wants_ this to go and it involves getting on his knees and- _shut up brain._

The yelling is still going on, somewhere not too close but not too distant. The shouts of ‘a fairy has escaped!’ are loud and clear. Yuri clenches his fist. This man may be mildly attractive (okay, _very_ attractive) but he is still human, and he works for the _King_ , who is the leader of all the humans in Ecino. There is no reason why he should trust this man whatsoever.

 

“You’re bleeding,” the knight says. He is eyeing Yuri from toe to head back to toe and it is making Yuri feel funny in his skin. The knight frowns, “The anti-magic shackles and collar… our people did this?”

 

Yuri shrugs, “Duh. Who else?”

 

Otabek’s frown deepened, “They hurt you?”

 

“They planned to sell me in the black market, so no, they didn’t hurt me,” Yuri says, truthfully. “They didn’t want any scars.”

 

“The black market,” the knight growls. He looks angry – that’s Yuri’s assumption anyways, from the few minutes of meeting him. Those brown eyes narrow, “And your foot?”

 

Yuri shrugs, “They took my shoes and I cut my foot on glass whilst escaping.”

 

The knight exhales, shaking his head. He turns to Yuri once again, “Come with me.”

 

“Why should I?” Yuri blurts, “You’re a knight. How do I know you’re not just gonna throw me into a cell and make me a prisoner?”

 

“I won’t,” He says, firmly. His eyes are strong, sincere. “I will not hurt you.”

 

It’s strange. Yuri is usually so guarded, but when looking into this man’s eyes, Yuri feels like he can trust him completely. Which is ridiculous. “How do I know I can trust you?”

 

“What’s your name?” the knight says.

 

“Huh?” Yuri doesn’t understand. “Why would I tell you-”

 

The man only watches him with serious eyes. And waits.

 

Three whole minutes of awkward silence – and pretty erotic eye contact, if Yuri is completely honest – passes.

 

Fucking- _fine._ Yuri crosses his arms and huffs, “Yuri.”

 

“Yuri,” The name rolls off his tongue easily, his deep voice making Yuri shiver. The knight looks at him straight-on, not a single waver in his voice or gaze, “I give you my word that I will keep you safe.”

 

Yuri felt chills run down his skin. Damn it.

 

He hisses, “What worth is a human’s words?”

 

“Trust me, and I will show you,” the knight says. He holds out his hand again, palm up, just as before. “Come.”

 

The shouts are coming back closer again. Yuri can feel it, in the thrumming of the ground beneath his feet, can hear it in the wisps of air that blows past his ear. He needs to move, and move fast. But his injured feet is not going to allow that. His best choice is this stranger, this handsome mysterious knight with deep brown eyes Yuri wants to believe in. He feels it, deep in his gut, like it’s the only truth he’s known.

 

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

 

Yuri grits his teeth and takes the knight’s hand. He gets pulled onto the back of the horse effortlessly, like he weighs nothing, fitting behind the knight on his saddle.

 

“Your name?” Yuri says through his teeth, even as he holds onto the knight’s waist.

 

“Otabek,” The knight says, kicking off his jet-black horse. “Otabek Altin.”

 

 

…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you've read my previous fic you know I said my next fic will be for Haikyuu!!, but this fic idea hit me like an avalanche of ideas and I simply cannot let it go. I hope you guys will enjoy this as much as I have fun writing it - let me know what you think, your comments make my day xx


	2. Incredibly distracting and potentially very dangerous

As it turns out, Otabek Altin is pretty darn famous.

 

Because this man is not only a mere knight. He is a Knight Commander.

 

_The_ Knight Commander of the Tenth Battalion, in fact – which, as Yuri discovered, means Otabek is in charge of the King’s Guard. Which means he is the main man responsible for the safety of the King of Ecino and all of his charges. Apparently he saved the King in an attack some time ago and has been since considered a national hero to the people of Ecino. Which means he’s a pretty Big Deal.

 

It also means Otabek basically lives on palace grounds, and that is where Yuri has been living for the past four days.

 

_Four days._ Living in the palace of the ruler of humans. Yuri cannot believe himself. He was literally spluttering his protests when Otabek rode him through the back entrance of the palace ( _“Wait, is this the palace? As in THE palace? Where the King lives?! What the hell, you said you weren’t gonna turn me in you filthy human liar I knew I should never have trusted you-!”_ ) only to shut right up when Otabek takes him to his home – a simple, two-storied house at the back of the palace buildings next to the training grounds – and plops Yuri down before bandaging his foot and sending Yuri into a spare bedroom to rest.

 

It was never Yuri’s plan to stay longer than a night. But it so happens to be that the four humans who captured Yuri in the beginning is involved with a large gang within the black market business, and now there’s a head-hunt for Yuri out in the streets. With his magic bound and injured as he is, there is only a slim chance of Yuri getting back to Folkland without getting captured.

 

Of course, Yuri was adamant on leaving either way, but Otabek convinced him to stay – he’s arranged to bring in a master blacksmith to remove Yuri’s shackles within the week (they can only cut the chains for now), and even Yuri can see that there is more benefit in waiting than leaving.

 

So Yuri stays.

 

And he doesn’t know whether it is the best or worst decision in his life.

 

Best, because Otabek is, quite frankly, all kinds of wonderful.

 

Worst, because it makes Yuri’s heart go a little crazy in his chest every time Otabek looks at him.

 

**Exhibit A:**

 

The first morning, Otabek walks out of his house to find Yuri sleeping up in the walnut tree, cocooned in Otabek’s duvet right up to his neck. Yuri couldn’t sleep in the spare bedroom. There was too much metal, and too little wind and air. He tells Otabek this, and Otabek only nods, thoughtfully.

 

That afternoon, all metals are removed from Yuri’s spare bedroom, and his bed had been rearranged so that it is pushed halfway outdoors on the balcony. Yuri can only gape at Otabek, who looks back at him with a blank expression.

 

“Better?” Otabek says.

 

“You didn’t have to,” Yuri says.

 

Otabek only blinks at him, like Yuri just said something strange, “I wanted to.”

 

**Exhibit B:**

 

The second day, Yuri watches Otabek from the walnut tree as he trains with his battalion. He watches Otabek lead them through drills, shouting orders and commanding formations. Otabek comes back to the house hours later, hair wet, face flushed, and shirt clinging to his back.

 

“You’re sweaty,” Yuri says, wrinkling his nose.

 

“Sorry,” Otabek says, not looking the least bit apologetic as he yanks off his shirt revealing miles and miles of taut muscle and a perfectly ripped abdomen.

 

Yuri’s jaw promptly drops.

 

Fairies don’t sweat. It’s something Yuri has always found rather disgusting as a concept. So it is something of an experience to see such a perfect specimen of male human physique all glossy and dripping with perspiration, heat radiating off him in waves, droplets of sweat running down masses of tanned skin, pooling in the hollows of Otabek’s throat and collar bones, and think that he is _glorious_.

 

Yuri is licking his lips before he could stop himself.

 

“You’re staring,” Otabek says, with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I’m not,” Yuri says, still staring.

 

**Exhibit C:**

 

Yuri watches Otabek train again on the third day. This time, it is one-to-one combat training, and Yuri finds himself comparing and contrasting the different ways humans and fairies fight. Otabek moves like a sword – strong, powerful swings meant to take out the opponent within a few hits. Yuri’s approach is different – he was taught to fight like he was dancing, to use the opponent’s strength as his own, to slowly erode away at the enemy until they can no longer stand.

 

“You favor your right side when you fight,” Yuri tells Otabek during dinner.

 

Otabek pauses, looking up at Yuri curiously. “You know how to fight?”

 

“I trained a little,” Yuri lies. He didn’t train ‘a little’. He trained a _lot_. Victor may be an irresponsible ass but he is by no means a sloppy mentor. He is strict and unyielding, making Yuri repeat maneuvers time and time again until his muscles are screeching and his knuckles are bleeding and his ears are ringing from the aftermath of drawing so much on his magic.

 

Otabek watches him with considering eyes. Then, at the end of dinner, whilst washing dishes, he says, “Spar with me.”

 

Yuri turns to look at him, startled, “What, right now?”

 

“No,” Otabek says, “When your magic is unbound and your foot is healed.”

 

Yuri smirks, “I don’t need magic to best you, Knight Commander.”

 

Otabek raises an eyebrow. “Tomorrow, then.”

 

The next day, Yuri finds himself with his back on the ground panting hard, Otabek’s forearm locking him down.

 

Fucking Knight Commanders.

 

It is equally frustrating and exhilarating sparring with Otabek. He is strong, of course, the strength in his muscles hard like steel, but he also has incredible stamina. And he is smart, unexpectedly efficient in his moves, gaining maximum power with minimal energy wasted, not just throwing his weight around like a large animal. Yuri is pleasantly surprised, then thoroughly annoyed when Otabek manages to throw him to the ground. (And just the tiniest bit turned on, because Otabek is lying on top of him, all hot and sweaty and Yuri can think of far too many situations they could be in where Otabek would be exactly where he is.)

 

“You took advantage of my bad foot,” Yuri hisses.

 

“I did,” Otabek agrees. Yuri is about to tell him how unfair it is, that he is a hulking beast of a man and they really shouldn’t compare when they’re obviously in different weight classes, when Otabek says, “You’re very good.”

 

And damn, if Yuri doesn’t preen just a little with that compliment. He masks it with a scowl, though, “I’ll definitely beat you next time.”  

 

Something lights up at the back of Otabek’s eyes then, and there’s a smile playing on his lips, “We’ll see, Yuri.”

 

And Yuri’s heart may have just tripped all over itself.

 

 

…

 

 

Today is now the fourth day, and Yuri is stretching in the living room when Otabek comes home.

 

“I’m back,” Otabek closes the door, turns around to see Yuri, and promptly drops his sword. And his shield. And a whole bag of groceries.

 

Yuri, doing an over-180 degrees splits with his left ankle on the sofa, his right ankle on the floor, and both forearms and his front pressed on the carpet, lifts his head up to greet him with a little wave. “’Sup, Knight Commander.”

 

“Ungh,” Otabek says. He sounds choked. Yuri wonders if he’s okay.

 

Yuri pushes himself up and goes into a back bend, looking at Otabek from upside down. “You brought food?”

 

“Ungh- uhh yeah,” Otabek wheezes. He clears his throat. “Yes. I got you the small mushroom pie-buns you liked the other day.”

 

“You did?” Yuri instantly springs up onto his feet, eyes sparkling. “Can I have it now?”

 

“Yeah,” Otabek says, looking like he is able to breathe a little better now. “I’ll go heat it up in the oven for you.”

 

“I can do it!” Yuri skips around Otabek happily, humming a Folkland tune from his childhood as he helps put away the groceries whilst Otabek takes off his armor and excuses himself for a quick shower. Yuri is already smiling thinking about the mini mushroom pie-buns. If there’s something the humans have done right, it’s got to be pastries. Yuri has never tasted something so wonderful as the mini pies – it’s egg glazed and stuffed with mushrooms and meat and rice and Yuri is completely in love with the damn thing. The first time Otabek brought them home, Yuri ate a total of nine pie-buns all by himself. He felt sick afterwards for a long time, but it was _worth it_. The fuckers were _delicious,_ and Yuri would do it all over again with zero regrets.

 

Yuri crouches down in front of the oven and waits for the pies to warm up.

 

He didn’t know how long Otabek has been out of the shower. The knight was already standing there, watching Yuri, by the time Yuri has turned to look for him. There’s a strange, warm look in his eyes that Yuri thinks resembles the heat of the oven.

 

“Do you think they’re done?” Yuri says, only half trying to contain his excitement.

 

“Give it a few more minutes,” Otabek says, walking into the kitchen to set up the table.

 

“Alright,” Yuri says, going back to humming as he wanders around the kitchen to kill time.

 

Otabek’s house is simple and minimalistic. The walls are white, with white and blue themed furniture throughout the entire house. There is no extravagance, no fancy chandeliers or marbled-floors. There are hardly any decorations, except for the potted plants along the windows. In the kitchen, these are mostly cooking herbs. Most of the walls are kept plain, except for a clock and some paintings in the kitchen.

 

Yuri stops to look at the paintings properly for the first time since he’s been here. There’s one of a waterfall, similar to the one Yuri has played in as a young fairy, surrounded by flowers blooming in the spring. There’s a portrait of a beautiful lady, with the same deep, intense brown eyes and sharp eyebrows as Otabek. She is smiling in the picture, her dark hair framing her face with soft waves. She’s in another one as well, she’s younger here, a head-to-toe painting of her with her dark hair tied back, her body poised in a graceful pose, one hand on a bar and the other arm raised, one leg stretched out behind her, her toes pointed in beautiful precision.

 

“That’s my mother,” Otabek says, softly. Yuri startles only slightly, not realizing Otabek has come up behind him.

 

“You have her eyes,” Yuri says. Then, quietly, “She’s beautiful.”

 

“She was,” Otabek says. He nods towards the full-body painting, “She was a dancer. My father painted her. That’s the painting from their first meeting.”

 

Yuri doesn’t miss the past tense. He doesn’t pry, though. It’s not his place.

 

“Your father was a painter?” Yuri says, looking at all the paintings with a new light.

 

“Before he became a soldier in the Civil War, yes,” Otabek says.

 

Yuri remembers the Civil War. It was almost 20 years past, and the Fair Folk were not involved, and yet all know it to be dreadful. Humans killing each other and destroying the lands until there was barely anything left – all in the name of independence.

 

Yuri shakes his head. This is going into uncomfortable territory that he doesn’t feel like he has the right to breach. He points to another painting, of a younger female human with the same brown hue to her eyes but much less intense. She is smiling with her whole face, dimples in both her cheeks. Her hair is ink black, and tied in two pigtails. “Who’s this?”

 

“My sister,” Otabek says, voice warm. “She’s a painter, too. The royal family hires her for most of their paintings. She painted this one-” He points to the one of himself, kneeled before the King in what Yuri assumes is a knighting ceremony. “-and this one.”

 

The other painting is of Otabek, too, but a younger one. Probably in his late teens. Otabek is not smiling in the picture, wearing the same emotionless expression as he usually does in his current age – the boy beside him, though, has the biggest, most self-assured grin plastered all over his features. He is, admittedly, quite handsome, even with his still-boyish features, but not in the same raw way that Otabek is attractive. This boy is classically good looking and he _knows_ it. In the picture, he has his arm wrapped around Otabek’s shoulder, his free hand posing in what looks to be a point. At himself.

 

What an arrogant looking bastard.

 

Yuri feels a very strong urge to punch him in his stupid face. He scowls, “And who is this douchebag?”

 

Otabek snorts. “That’s the Crown Prince of Ecino. Jean-Jacques Leroy.”

 

“Blehhh,” Yuri sticks out his tongue. “Prince. No wonder he’s a douchebag. Even his _name_ is douche-y.”

 

Otabek looks like he’s trying very hard not to laugh, “He’s not that bad.”

 

“Oh, come on,” Yuri says.

 

“Really.”

 

“Are you seriously saying this guy is your friend?”

 

Otabek shakes his head, “Fiancé, actually.”

 

“That’s what I-” Yuri stops. “Wait. What.”

 

“JJ is my fiancé,” Otabek says.

 

“What.” Yuri says again, with no inflection. His bright green eyes are wide. “You’re… engaged?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“To the Prince?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Yuri feels like the world has just turned upside down. He blurts out before he can stop himself, “You’re engaged to _that_ douchebag?”

 

Otabek blinks, “He’s really not that bad.”

 

“But-” Yuri starts saying before he realizes that there is no ‘but’. It makes sense, really. Otabek is the national hero, the Knight Commander of the royal palace; it only makes sense for him to be matched with the Crown Prince.

 

But Yuri looks at Otabek and all his wonderful qualities and Yuri looks at a painting of JJ and even through a mere painting Yuri can feel it’s _wrong, wrong, wrong._

And Yuri is… disappointed.

 

He isn’t sure why. He’s only known Otabek for a little over three days, and even though Otabek is drop-dead-drooling-at-the-mouth gorgeous it’s not like anything is ever going to happen between them. Otabek is a human – a knight, at that. He’s more on the humans’ side than even the normal humans. And Yuri is the fairy apprentice to the legendary fairy, who is in line to become the youngest fairy ever to take a seat on the Council of the Fair Folk. Their worlds are so far apart it’s not even funny.

 

“When did you say the blacksmith was coming?” Yuri says abruptly.

 

“Oh,” Otabek blinks, taken aback by the sudden change of subject. “Tomorrow, most likely.”

 

“Good,” Yuri says, flatly. Then, “I’m going to go outside for a bit.”

 

“Now?” Otabek frowns, “Don’t you want to eat the pies first?”

 

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Yuri says quickly.

 

And Yuri curses the way Otabek’s face falls at that because, goddamnit, he doesn’t need to be feeling _guilty_ on top of all the other unnecessary stupid goddamn emotions he already feels.

 

“I’ll eat them when I come back,” Yuri promises. Because fuck Otabek and his stupid _face._ “So- yeah. Save some for me.”

 

“Alright,” Otabek nods. “And be careful. There’s more guards out during this time of the night.”

 

That irritated Yuri for some reason. He snaps, “I know how to take care of myself, _human_.”

 

Otabek looks at him, silent for a moment. Then-

 

“I know, Yuri,” he says, eyes gentle. Frustratingly so.

 

And damn it. That’s not fair. The way he says Yuri’s name – like he sees through him, like he knows exactly who Yuri is – has never been fair.

 

Yuri barely manages to stop himself from slamming the door on his way out.

 

 

…

 

 

 

“Who does that? Right? Like, he definitely didn’t mention it. And he could have. It’s so easy, like, hey, Yuri, by the way, I’m engaged to the douchebag Crown Prince of Ecino, so even though I’m a liiiittle bit attractive just know as a heads up that I’m definitely unavailable.”

 

“…”

 

“And then he goes around, taking his damn shirt off like he owns the damn place. Well, fine, he kinda does. It _is_ his house. But like. How fucking inconsiderate! I was sitting right there. Right there. And I’m forced to look at his shoulders. And his chest. And his abs. Not that I’m complaining – he has great abs. Really great abs. But it’s not fair to flaunt all that goodness when I can’t have it!”

 

“…”

 

“He’s a human. He’s the fucking knight commander of humans, and I’m a fairy, so I shouldn’t find him so- you know what. Whatever. It’s whatever. I’m leaving after I get these damn shackles removed tomorrow anyways, and I’m never coming back and I’ll become the Greatest Fairy Ever and forget all about goddamn Knight Commander Otabek Altin and his stupid handsome face. Tch.”

 

“…”

 

“But like, I’ve never found a human this attractive before? Even when he’s sweaty… he’s still hot? Is that weird? Maybe I just haven’t been around enough humans. But humans _smell._ Like, they have this skin smell. Not him though. Oh no. He smells like hot fire burning when it’s raining and I wanna get all up in that smoking- ugggh, _why_ is he engaged?!”

 

Yuri throws his hands up in the air.

 

The black cat, who Yuri has been talking to the whole time, only tilts its head at him curiously.

 

They are sitting at the back borders of the palace, perched on top of the high walls. Yuri can see the whole city from here, all the way to the forest; the entrance to Folkland. It makes his chest feel hollow, missing home. He doesn’t allow himself to do it too often. Because missing home makes Yuri feel young – it makes Yuri feel small and lonely and it makes Yuri want to cuddle with his grandpa, and then feel even worse, because his grandpa is not here with him.

 

The black cat, almost like it can sense his mood, nudges its head on Yuri’s arm.

 

“You remind me of Salchow,” Yuri says, scratching behind the cat’s ears, thinking of the white fluffy beauty waiting for him at home.

 

The cat mewls pleasantly, shutting its eyes and curling its tail.

 

“Your tail looks like a loop like that,” Yuri says. “Shall I name you Loop?”

 

The cat stands and glares at him with big yellow eyes like Yuri has offended him.

 

“Oh? Don’t like it?” Yuri raises an eyebrow, challengingly, “Well, tough. You’re stuck with that name. _Loop_.”

 

The stray cat, newly ‘Loop’, narrows its eyes at him.

 

Yuri is about to say something else about how Loop is a _great_ name and how lucky the black cat is to have such a genius give him such a fantastic name when all of a sudden, Yuri is whipped by a force of wind strong enough to yank him right off the walls.

 

Yuri would like to say that he does not scream. The reality, however, is that Yuri shrieked like a dying witch as he falls, thinking, _oh my gods, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die whilst my magic is still bound and that means my spirit won’t ever be returned to the Folkland and I will be stuck in my dying body forever and ever and I’m gonna die a virgin and that is BULLSHIT because someone so pretty should NEVER die a virgin and oh gods I don’t wanna dieeeeee—_

“You can stop screaming now, Kitten,” says a smooth voice above him with a little chuckle.

 

And Yuri knows, even in death he would recognize that goddamn voice anywhere.

 

He opens his eyes and, sure enough, he finds himself in the arms of the legendary fairy, the Vice President of the Council, the youngest and only fairy ever to win not two, not three, but _five_ consecutive Solstice Trials – the one and only, his mentor, _Victor Nikiforov._

 

“ _Where the hell have you been?!_ ” Yuri yells at him immediately.

 

“Shhh,” Victor hushes, pressing an index finger to Yuri’s lips. “Be quiet. There are guards around. You’re lucky I managed to mute your screaming just now.”

 

“ _You’re_ the one who blew me off the walls in the first place!” Yuri whisper-yells, viciously poking Victor’s chest. “It’s your fault! Bastard.”

 

“It was funny,” Victor shrugs, smiling nonchalantly. Then, his eyes narrow as he scans Yuri, “Not as funny as these anti-magic shackles, though.” He sighs, “What trouble did you get into this time, hm?”

 

“Shut up. It’s all your fault anyways,” Yuri hisses.

 

“My fault?” Victor blinks innocently. “What did I ever do?”

 

“You _disappeared_!” Yuri roars, “And I had to deal with all your _shit,_ Victor, and then I was burdened with the task to come find you and _look where that got me._ ” He shoves the wrist shackles in Victor’s face, shaking them for emphasis.

 

Victor easily pushes his hands away, “Aww, Yuri, you came looking for me?”

 

“Not by choice,” Yuri mutters.

 

Victor ignores him, clutching Yuri close against his chest, “You’re so sweet! I’m so lucky to have such a cute little apprentice!”

 

“Don’t hug me!”

 

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay, Yuri, I’m here now,” Victor coos at him like a baby. “I’m here now, everything is okay~”

 

“Everything is _not_ okay, you asshole! Put me down!” Yuri pushes at his face, “And _where the hell have you been?!_ ”

Victor sighs, reluctantly letting Yuri go. “I’ve been right here, Kitten. At this palace.”

 

“The hell?” Yuri glares, “What the fuck are you doing at a human’s palace?”

 

“Language,” Victor clicks his tongue, “And I could ask the same about you.”

 

“That’s- a long story,” Yuri mutters, nodding towards his shackles. “And I asked you first!”

 

“Fine, fine,” Victor shrugs. Then, he looks towards the palace, and his eyes go all gloopy and his whole face softens as he sighs, dreamily, “I’ve fallen in love, Yuri.”

 

“What.” Yuri says.

 

“He’s it. He’s _The One._ I know it, Yuri. This time, for sure,” Victor’s eyes are having that heart-shaped aura around it that Yuri is very alarmed by.

 

“Victor, no.” Yuri says, groaning.

 

“I’ve found my Tether, Yuri!” Victor exclaims happily, flinging his arms around Yuri.

 

Yuri writhes out of Victor’s grasp, flinching away. “You’ve said that at least three times since I’ve met you, Victor. None of them were your Tether.”

 

“It’s different this time! I swear!” Victor exclaims. Then, with a romantic sigh, “He’s _perfect_ , Yuri.”

 

“Oh my gods,” Yuri buries his face in his hands.

 

Tethers are, to fairies, the most important person in their lives. Magic is a wicked, fickle thing, and the more one uses it and the stronger their magic is, the harder it is to control. Thus, once a fairy comes of age, he or she will eventually find a Tether to ground their magic. Someone who keeps them from allowing their magic to consume them completely. The bond between a fairy and their Tether, once fully formed, is strong and unbreakable.

 

Often, it is said that one’s Tether is like one’s soulmate. Tethers are usually formed between lovers, the intimate relationship helping to deepen the bond.

 

Not having a Tether holds a risk of a fairy turning Dark. They become obsessed with their magic, consumed by the craving for more power, their magic and minds becoming unstable and erratic. Yuri’s clan has been fighting a war against the Darks for as long as he can remember – to Yuri, becoming a Dark is akin to a living nightmare.

“You have to come back,” Yuri says, shaking his head. “The Council needs you there, Victor.”

 

“But I need to stay here! Yuri, he’s my _Tether._ I know it. And I really mean it this time,” Victor says.

 

“That’s what you said last time…” Yuri crosses his arms at him, unconvinced.

 

“Well,” Victor crosses his arms too, childishly, “I’m not going back without him.”

 

“The _fuck_ -” Yuri curses, “Victor, you _promised_ you’d train me properly after I’ve come of age!”

 

“Eh,” Victor waves his hand, unperturbed. “I’ll do that once I get back.”

 

“It’ll be too late by then! I know how you get when you have these weird _crushes_ of yours,” Yuri scowls. “Remember that centaur? Cenarius? Remember him? You said the exact same thing about him as you’re saying about this new crush now and look how that ended up!”

 

“It’s not just a crush! And Cenarius was more, like, a casual fling,” Victor huffs. “You’re too young, Yuri. You wouldn’t understand.”

 

“Like hell I won’t! I watched you chase down that centaur for months. _Months._ ” Yuri glares, “Do you know how distracting it was when I was trying my hardest to learn your spells and the moment he’s within four hundred-metres radius you _sprint_ off to see him?”

 

Victor shrugs, “He was hot. Great thighs. All four of them.”

 

“ _Victor!_ ” Yuri growls.

 

Victor sighs, “Look, I don’t see what the problem is. I’ll stay here, and if you want to train that badly then you can stay too and I’ll train you, right here. Then I can get my man, form my Tether, and we can all go back to Folkland together. There. See? Everyone’s happy.”

 

Yuri frowns, “It’s not that easy.”

 

“Oh, pish posh. It is that easy. You’re just being stubborn because you’re in your rebellious phase,” Victor exhales dramatically.

 

Yuri rolls his eyes. “I got over that ages ago.”

 

“Sure you have, Kitten,” Victor says, smiling sweetly.

 

Yuri wants to punch him in the throat.

 

“There’s no rush to go home anyways, is there? Last I checked, the Darks are still far too weak to form an attack on us any time soon. So there’s no rush,” Victor says.

 

“Well, no,” Yuri says, weakly. _But I don’t want to stay here because there’s a Knight Commander who’s incredibly distracting and potentially very dangerous for my heart-_ Yuri wants to say, but he doesn’t. Victor will only tease him for it, and Yuri doesn’t have the necessary comebacks prepared for that yet.

 

“Then there’s no problem! I’ll train you the advanced level stuff every day until I’ve fully formed my Tether with my beloved. Then we all go home. Boom. Happy Ending,” Victor grins, clearly proud of himself. “We’ll start tomorrow. Deal?”

 

Yuri sighs, too tired to argue with him anymore, “ _Fine_.”

 

“Oh, and do get rid of those shackles, Yuri. They give me headaches just being near them,” Victor winces, shaking his head. “Also, they’re ugly. Lilia will never let me live it down if I let her precious little Yuri wear such ugly things.”

 

“It’s not like it was a _choice-_ ” Yuri starts to say.

 

But Victor has already vanished.

 

Fucking classic Victor Nikiforov.

 

And now Yuri has to go back and look at Otabek Altin and his stupid engaged-to-the-Crown-Prince stupid _stupid_ handsome face.

 

“ _Ugh-_ ” Yuri grinds his teeth and makes a mental note to zap all the precious silver hair off of Victor’s head the _second_ he gets his magic unbound.

 

As far as Yuri is concerned, this is still all Victor’s fault, and no one can convince him otherwise.

 

 

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm literally writing this for my own personal entertainment, so do let me know if you guys are enjoying this so I can be a bit more consistent with updates :D x


	3. Ice statues, fireballs, and Yuri's flower

There are a multitude of stories and myths about how Yuri came to be Victor Nikiforov’s apprentice.

 

Yuri has heard plenty of them throughout the years. The most ridiculous ones stick in his mind the best. Some favourites include:

 

  1. The one where Yuri was found by Victor as a baby fairy floating down the river on a giant blooming lotus (which sounds vaguely familiar to some other famous story, Yuri is sure);
  2. The one in which Victor discovered Yuri frozen in ice in a cave at the top of the tallest mountain of Ecino (Yuri likes this one because they tell it like he’s some sort of powerful god from the past who froze himself into the future and that’s _badass_ ); and
  3. The one where Yuri is Victor’s illegitimate child with a lady elf (which Yuri finds hilarious because, ahem, have you _seen_ Victor? If that boy got any gayer he’d be shitting rainbows).



 

The most popular version is that Yuri’s true parents had gone Dark, and Yuri – a mere fairy child – managed to survive just long enough until Victor got to them and saved Yuri from all the abuse and torture.

 

People like this version because it glorifies Victor – what a _hero_ , our _legendary_ fairy – whilst helping to make excuses for Yuri’s snarky attitude – oh, the poor thing, he’s so _damaged_ – not to mention it’s overwhelmingly dramatic, which fairies seem to love.

 

Unfortunately, all of these stories are, in their entirety, absolutely and completely untrue.

 

Here’s the truth. Yuri is a normal fairy, born to two lovely fairy parents. His mother was one of the most beautiful fairies to have ever lived, but she was frail, and died shortly after childbirth. His father was brave and strong, a commander of the fairy troops who died in combat during one of the great battles with the Darks when Yuri was still a toddler. Yuri was then raised by his loving grandfather, Nikolai Plisetsky, a veteran of the fairy troops.

 

Yuri grew up watching his grandfather help train the young recruits of the Folkland’s army. He’d copy their movements from afar, practicing them in his own time until he achieved pinpoint precision. He didn’t have many friends growing up, because the fairy boys teased him for being ‘girly’, and he didn’t like playing with the fairy girls who only seemed interested in braiding his hair with flowers. Yuri wanted action; he wanted to be strong like his father and grandfather. He thought, when his magic finally manifests in his teenager years, he wanted to become the strongest soldier ever and beat the Darks to the ground.

 

As it so happened, Yuri didn’t need to wait until his teenager years.

 

When Yuri was seven, a group of humans came into the forest with tents and metal and started building little fires just along the edge of Folkland. His grandfather told him that sometimes, the humans do a camping trip there in the summer with their younger humans.

 

Yuri had never seen younger humans before. So, naturally, he snuck just out of the edges of Folkland to see what they are up to. Usually, it was some sort of physical group activity, the younger boys running in zig zags and climbing nets and jumping through hoops. Sometimes, they train – just like the fairy soldiers do – with press-ups and heavy lifting and quick sprints and stretching. Yuri liked watching them from the trees, later copying their moves, finding it interesting how the exercises differed from the fair folk’s training.

 

Until one day, Yuri’s foot slipped on the slippery moss on a tree branch and he stumbled, landing hard on a weaker branch down below and—

 

CRACK-! ---SPLASH!

 

Yuri fell down into a puddle on the muddy floor with a spectacular splash, right next to the training group of teenage boys.

 

“What the-! Who the hell are you?” the leader of the group asked.

 

Yuri only stared up at them with wide eyes, panicking. He’d heard the horrors about what humans could do to fairies they captured, and Yuri would rather bite off his own tongue than be subjected to that.

 

“Are you lost? You don’t look familiar. Are you from another camping trip around here?” Another boy peered at him.

 

Yuri shook his head, still keeping his mouth shut. He needed to run. He needed to go. He wasn’t even supposed to be here.

 

“Oh, _no way_ …” One of the smaller boys said, eyes wide. “His _ears_. Look!”

 

_Damn it-_

 

“ _Fairy?_ ” They were all staring at him now, “A _child_ fairy?”

 

“Whoa, I’ve never seen one this young before…”

 

“I’ve never even seen one!”

 

The humans were all moving closer to Yuri, eyeing him up and down with cautious interest like he was some rare insect. Yuri didn’t like the look in their beady eyes.

 

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

 

“It’s… glowing. It’s so pretty…”

 

“Pretty? Ew. It’s covered in mud.”

 

“Hey, fairy, can you talk? Do you understand what we’re saying?”

 

“What were you doing watching us, fairy? Were you spying on us?”

 

One of the bigger humans crouched down towards Yuri, approaching him, and Yuri immediately growled and shuffled backwards in the mud puddle – splashing mud up at the human in the process.

 

“Oi, oi, hey,” the human frowned, “There’s no need for that.”

 

Yuri can sense the annoyance from him. It made him panic, but he wasn’t about to show the humans that. He kicked away more, splashing more muddy water around him.

 

“Hey!” The human raised his voice, reaching out to grab for Yuri’s arm, “I said there’s no need for-”

 

“ _AHHH!_ ” Yuri screamed the second the boy’s hand wrapped around his bicep – the boy was wearing a metal ring, an _iron_ ring, and it was burning Yuri, it was searing his skin and scorching his flesh and the pain seeped into Yuri’s entire arm like poison. He writhed violently, trying to jerk his slim arm away from the human’s hand.

 

“What the- stop wriggling, what is wrong with you!” The human wasn’t letting go.

 

Yuri’s eyes were starting to water – his skin was _burning_ and he needed this man to get _off_ him. He snarled at the human, even as his arm was trembling.

 

“I think you’re hurting him…” One of the younger boys said.

 

“I’m not even doing anything! It just won’t stop making a fuss. Oi!” The human tightened his grip, his ring pressing into Yuri’s flesh.

 

Yuri shrieked out in agony – _let go, let go, let GO_ – his mind starting to black out from the pain.

 

It was then, in that moment, that Yuri felt it.

 

A tingle, starting from his fingertips, like miniature sparks travelling through his blood and bones, right down his spine to his toes. And Yuri knew instantly, this wasn’t something external – this was something from within him, something of his own, and he grabbed onto it like a lifeline.

 

There was an eruption of something at the end of his fingertips, a flash of blinding white light through his eyelids, and all of a sudden, everything was silent.

 

The pain on Yuri’s arm was gone.

 

Slowly, Yuri opened his eyes – and gaped at the sight before him.

 

The human boys, all of them, including the one who was holding onto Yuri, had turned completely into ice statues.

 

And Yuri stared and stared and looked left and right for any signs of another fairy around because, surely, it wasn’t him. It couldn’t have been him. Fairies _don’t_ manifest their magic until they are midway through their teenage years. Even Victor Nikiforov, the prodigious fairy and the strongest of their clan, who was considered to have manifested his magic extremely early, did so at the age of nine.

 

Yuri was _seven_.

One of the fairy soldiers on patrol found Yuri then – having seen the massive flash of light.

 

He stared at the ice statues, then back at Yuri, “…you did this?”

 

“I don’t know,” Yuri said shakily, cradling his arm. It didn’t hurt anymore but the ring had burnt a mark into his flesh.

 

More soldiers came after that, followed by Yuri’s grandfather. The old fairy immediately crouched down to scoop Yuri into his arms and cuddled him close.

 

“It’s alright, Yurochka,” his grandpa murmured, softly petting Yuri’s blonde hair.

 

“Grandpa, am I going to the dungeons?” Yuri sniffled, “They say the dungeon fairies never see the sun again. And they have to have all their hair shaved off to mock them. Because bald heads look like the sun. Which they will never see again.” Yuri’s eyes grew wide. “…which _I_ will never see again. Grandpa, I don’t wanna be bald! Don’t let them shave my hair off!”

 

“No one is shaving your hair off, Yurochka,” his grandpa said, ruffling the top of Yuri’s head. “And I’m pretty sure that is not why they shave the dungeon fairies’ hair.”

 

A representative of the Fair Folk Council was sent for, and it was in this moment that Yuri first came face to face with the notorious fairy Victor Nikiforov.

 

Yuri had seen him before, of course, at the Solstice Trials and at the recent ceremony to grant him his seat on the Council. But up close, Victor was even more impressive.

 

He was beautiful, with long, shiny silver hair that flowed all the way down to his waist, and bright blue eyes that were limpid, like water. He was wearing a sparkly black bodysuit with gemstones embedded here and there, and over it, a marvelous cloak boasting the stripes of a white tiger. Yuri thought he was the most fabulous thing to have ever existed.

 

“Why hello, little one,” Victor said, with a grin, “When I heard a child fairy beat my record I didn’t realize you’d be so tiny.”

 

“Hello, big one,” Yuri said, “When I saw you from before I didn’t realize you were so sparkly.”

 

Victor’s eyes glimmered. His grin widened, flashing bright white teeth, “I am very sparkly, indeed.”

 

Yuri blinked, “You’re actually dazzling. It’s amazing. If they shave off my hair in the dungeons can I have a bit of yours instead? You have more than enough, you can share. Or your cloak. Your cloak is fantastic. Is it real? Like, it’d be a lot less cool if the tiger had to die for it, but it does look pretty awesome.”

 

“It’s not real,” Victor said, “The nymphs weaved it for me with enchanted spider web spindles in imitation of the Great White Tiger’s skin and fur. They dipped it in the fountain of light to add more glossy shine.”

 

Yuri gaped at the cloak in awe, “That’s _so cool._ ”

 

Victor raised a brow, “I like this kid.”

 

“Does that mean I’m not going to the dungeons? Because you _like_ me, and you’re VP of the council, right? You have the power,” Yuri tilted his head and looked up from under his lashes. He was told by several people that this was a ‘cute’ move. Yuri was going to use all the cuteness he had if that meant he didn’t have to be _bald_ in the _dungeons_.

 

“Ah, well that depends on what the story is with all these ice statues,” Victor said. “Now can you explain to me, in your own words, what happened here?”

 

Yuri did. From start to finish, he told Victor everything – from how he was sneaking on the humans to the iron ring until the moment everything stopped and he was surrounded by ice statues.

 

“I see,” Victor nodded thoughtfully. “So it really was your magic that turned them into ice.”

 

“I don’t know,” Yuri said, honestly. “I think so?”

 

“Well, good,” Victor said, with a brilliant smile. “Now change them back.”

 

“Huh?” Yuri blinked rapidly at him, “What do you mean?”

 

“Exactly what I said. You turned them into ice, so you can change them back,” Victor said.

 

“But,” Yuri stared at the ice statues, “I don’t know _how._ ”

 

Victor nudged him forward, “Just try.”

 

“Uhhhh… okay,” Yuri said. He walked up to a statue, one of the smallest boys, and grabbed onto their left arm with both hands. He inhaled, long and slow, closing his eyes. When he reopened them, his emerald eyes were determined, and he yells, “Alakazam!”

 

Silence. Nothing.

 

Yuri tries again, louder, “Bara mama _wham_!”

 

Still nothing.

 

“…Yurochka,” His grandfather said gently, “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m… calling out spells?” Yuri said.

 

“Have you ever seen me calling out any spells like that in my entire life of using magic?”

 

“Er… no?” Yuri said, uncertainly.

 

“No,” Nikolai firmly shakes his head.

 

“Right. Um. Okay. So. Change back! Now!” Yuri waited.

 

The ice statues were starting to melt.

 

“Chaaaaaange baaaackkkkk,” Yuri said, trying to use a spooky magical voice like the ones in those bedtime stories his grandfather use to tell him. “Noooooowwww.”

 

Victor looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. “ _Bara mama wham_.”

 

“It’s not working!” Yuri frowned.

 

“Send a little pressure to your fingertips,” Victor hinted. “Try it.”

 

Yuri did. He pressed harder on the ice statue’s left arm, harder, harder--- until he heard a loud _crack_ and _snap_ at the statue’s wrist, and suddenly Yuri was holding a whole ice hand. Completely detached from the statue.

 

“Oh. _Oh_. Oh _no_ ,” Yuri fumbled to reattach the hand to the statue. “Uhhh. This is not going well.”

 

“You’re doing spectacularly,” Victor said with a sweet smile.

 

The ice hand was starting to properly dissolve in Yuri’s palms and Yuri thought, crap, _no_ , he _really_ needed to get this sorted out _right now._ He pushed the hand back onto the statue’s wrist and concentrated hard on merging them back together – _get back to normal, get back to normal, please, get back to normal…_

That faint tingle from before returned then, at the base of Yuri’s spine. This time, much more slowly. He felt it spread from his back down his shoulders and to his fingertips – more like a warm current, a wave, rather than crackles and electricity as before. And in a blink of an eye, all the ice statues were back to humans again.

 

“What the fuck hap- ohhhhhh,” the oldest of the human boys, the one with the iron ring, transgressed from pissed off to shock to fear in the course of five seconds of realizing he was completely surrounded by fairies –older, and clearly _very_ powerful fairies. He whispered to his friend, “ _Holy shit_.”

 

The younger boy, who Yuri managed to successfully reattach his hand back on with no trace of it ever being snapped apart, only said, quietly, “Um. My wrist feels kinda funny.”

 

Victor laughed and clapped his hands delightfully, “Perfect! Magnificent job, Yuri!”

 

Yuri’s grandfather was nodding at him, a proud smile on his face.

 

Yuri only stared down at his hands, trying to hide a grin. He had never felt so pleased with himself.

 

…

 

Three days later, a package arrived at Yuri’s house. Inside, there was a child-sized exact replica of Victor’s fur-imitation cloak of the Great White Tiger, along with a letter from Victor Nikiforov, officially declaring Yuri Plisetsky as his apprentice.

 

…

 

To tell the truth, Yuri appreciates Victor and all that he’s done from him. Through Victor, Yuri got the chance to become what he’s always wanted to be – _strong_. And he went from the isolated fairy child to a young apprentice who got to know some pretty awesome fairies, like Yakov, and Mila, and Lillia, and all of the fairies on the Fair Folk Council. And Victor himself is… admittedly, kind of amazing.

 

Some days, though, Yuri doesn’t appreciate Victor at all. Some days, like today, Yuri would much rather whack Victor across the head. Preferably with something heavy. Like a boulder.

 

“ _What_ are you doing here?” Yuri hisses when he walks into Otabek’s kitchen in the morning to find none other than his mentor casually reclining on the back of Otabek’s sofa, laughing openly, body language relaxed and comfortable like he owns the place.

 

Otabek himself is standing stiffly by the kitchen stove, a blank expression on his face as he pours Victor a cup of tea. He turns to see Yuri, “Ah. Good morning.” Then, as an afterthought. “Tea?”

 

“Yuri!” Victor says brightly, pirouetting off the sofa towards Yuri and slinging his arm around the smaller fairy’s shoulder. “I was just having the most wonderful time talking to lovely Knight Commander Altin here.”

 

“ _Why_?” Yuri says through gritted teeth, trying to lean away from Victor’s face.

 

“Tsk tsk. Silly question. Of course I’d want to get to know the man my cute little apprentice is shacking up with,” Victor says.

 

Yuri splutters, “We are not _shacking up-_ ”

 

DING.

 

The doorbell rings, cutting off Yuri’s protest.

 

“Must be the master blacksmith,” Otabek says, putting down the teapot. “I’ll go greet him.”

 

As soon as Otabek is out of earshot, Victor nudges Yuri. “So,” He smirks, “I gotta say, you’ve gotten yourself a rather _delicious_ package there. Good taste. Must’ve been my influence.”

 

Yuri pushes at him, scowling, “It’s not _like_ _that_.”

 

“Eh? No way. Why not?” Victor says. Then, with a knowing look, “Aww are you still waiting for the _right one_ to deflower you? So pure!”

 

“ _No-_ shut _up_ ,” Yuri says, flushing. “And don’t say it like that.”

 

Victor licks his lips salaciously, eyeing Otabek’s behind through the window. “I’d let him take _my_ flower.”

 

“Stop it.” Yuri frowns, “You don’t even _have_ a flower to be taken!”

 

Victor gasps dramatically, “How would you know? I might still have my flower. I have all the flowers.”

 

Yuri gives him a look.

 

Victor shrugs, “Eh. Fine, fine. I don’t have a flower. You have a flower.”

 

“Can we not call it that?” Yuri facepalms.

 

“Call what what?” Otabek decides to use this moment to re-enter the kitchen, a large-bodied blacksmith with a fantastically bushy moustache following in behind him.

 

“Yuri’s flower,” Victor says, grinning widely.

 

Otabek blinks, “His… flower?”

 

“Yes.” Victor nods, “Would you be interested in takin- ow! Yuri! That wasn’t very nice!”

 

Yuri, who had just kicked Victor right in the shins with the back of his heel, ignores the complaining fairy behind him and walks up to Otabek. “Please ignore Victor. He’s very old and senile and sometimes the older ones go a little funny. In the head. You know what I mean?”

 

“Hey, rude, I am in my _prime_ age I’ll have you know-”

 

Yuri ignores Victor completely. He gestures to his shackles, “So, are we getting these things off me or what?”

 

…

 

The master blacksmith does a fantastic job, cutting off the shackles with minimal discomfort to Yuri and not once cutting Yuri’s skin. (Even though it did take great amount of self control on Yuri’s part not to try and tug on the blacksmith’s extremely bushy moustache.) Victor watches the whole thing intently, with fascination, like he wishes to memorize the procedure. He hovers around the blacksmith after, pointing to different equipment and asking what each one does.

 

Meanwhile, Yuri takes the time to revel in the feeling of his wrists and neck being free. The shackles coming off felt like a boa constrictor uncoiling itself from his body, the crushing pressure removed, and Yuri can finally breathe properly again.

 

He could feel the tingles of his magic reigniting itself at his fingertips, the pull of his power warm and surging at the base of his spine, tickling up his every vertebra until hairs were rising at the back of his neck.

 

Yuri tilts his head back and inhales deeply, smiling when he feels his magic responding to his breaths once more, tickling his skin like it misses him too.

 

When he reopens his eyes, Otabek is staring at him.

 

And Yuri shivers all over once again because those dark eyes has an intensity to them that feels like it will pierce through him and cut through the septum of his heart all the way through his back.

 

“W-what.” Yuri says, voice hardened to hide the shakiness he actually feels.

 

Otabek says nothing. Instead, he steps closer to Yuri, until Yuri can almost feel the body heat radiating off him. Those dark eyes are still locked onto Yuri’s, holding him in place.

 

He raises his hand, and ever so gently, Otabek runs the pad of his thumb just under Yuri’s jawline at the place where the edges of the collar used to be.

 

Involuntarily, Yuri’s breath hitches.

 

The skin there is still tender, and Yuri catches Otabek’s wrist – but not removing his hand, only holding it still.

 

The spot where Otabek’s hand is on Yuri’s neck feels like it’s burning. But his eyes, sharp and dark, up close and looking straight into Yuri’s own, makes Yuri feel like he’s drowning.

 

“What are you doing?” Yuri says quietly, voice half-choked in his throat.

 

“Looking at you,” Otabek says.

 

_Yes, I am very aware of that_. Yuri swallows, “Why?”

 

Otabek blinks, like he hasn’t actually thought about this. Then, after looking at Yuri’s face for a moment longer, he blinks again. “You’re glowing.”

 

“I always glow. I’m a fairy.”

 

“Not like this,” Otabek says.

 

“What do you mean-” Yuri stops. He looks down at himself and notices that, yes, his skin is illuminating much more than it ever used to. They’re standing in daylight, but even so, Yuri’s light is bright and clear. The current of his magic is pulsing under his skin, more alive and present than Yuri has ever felt it. “Hm. Must be because the shackles compressed it down for too many days.”

 

“Does it feel alright now?” Otabek’s hand has moved from Yuri’s neck down to his shoulders, squeezing lightly as though to check for abnormalities.

 

“You kidding? It feels freaking great,” Yuri says. _Sure feels really great having your hands all over me, too- nope. Not going there._ “If we spar again I’ll take you down this time for sure.”

 

And there it is. That little sparkle behind Otabek’s eyes, and that quirk in his lips, “I won’t go easy on you.”

 

“Oh?” And, gods, doesn’t that teasing lilt in that deep voice light a fire in Yuri – glowing hot and daring, and it makes Yuri tilt his head and lean his face closer to Otabek’s challengingly. “You wouldn’t dare.”

 

The roaring flame that _alights_ behind Otabek’s eyes at that takes Yuri’s breath away, and all of a sudden, he is far _too_ aware of how close they are standing, of how warm Otabek’s palm is on his skin.

 

_Shit—shitshitshit-_

“What interesting topic are we discussing here?” Victor, thank the gods, decides to use this precise moment to leave the blacksmith in peace and pop his head right in between Yuri and Otabek, his chin resting on Yuri’s shoulder.

 

Both Yuri and Otabek recoil immediately, taking a step back from each other.

 

“Nothing,” Yuri mutters.

 

Otabek clears his throat, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

 

“Mm-hmm,” Victor hums, his bright blue eyes flitting knowingly between them, “I _see_.”

 

Yuri does not like the way Victor is grinning at him. Not one little bit.

 

…

 

“That was some serious eye-sexing you two were having.” Victor says, casually, mid-way through Yuri’s training regimen.

 

“We were _not_ -” Yuri growls, leaping over the gaping hole in the earth Victor created. “There was no eye-sexing. None. No sex in anyone’s eyes whatsoever.”

 

“Sure,” Victor says, shrugging as he narrowly avoids the shards of ice Yuri flings at him. “You can pretend you don’t want to eat his face and have his babies. Tiny little half-human babies with deep, intense eyes. And I’ll pretend to believe you. Ah-ah. Don’t even. I can see your mouth starting to open in protest. No. I saw the way you looked at him. You’re thirsty for some Knight Commander juice. If you know what I mean.” Victor waggles his eyebrows.

 

“You’re disgusting.” Yuri scowls, rolling away from the vines coming up to tie his ankles. “He’s engaged.”

 

Victor raises an eyebrow, “So?”

 

“To the _prince._ ”

 

“And?” Victor says, “It’s not like he’s married.”

 

Yuri gapes at him, appalled. “You are awful. No wonder you can’t find a Tether- _ow!_ Fireballs are cheating!”

 

“It was only a very tiny one,” Victor says, nonchalant. His index finger is still smoking from the mini pea-sized fireball he shot at Yuri’s calf.

 

“Yeah, still fucking unfair,” Yuri sticks out his tongue.

 

Fire is one of the last elements Victor has yet to teach Yuri how to use. Different fairies have varying affinities to all the elements – most are capable of mastering one or two, whilst fairy soldiers usually manage at least three. Yuri can currently use six elements whilst being a master of four; Ice being his strongest. Victor, on the other hand, has mastered eight out of eight since before he even met Yuri.

 

What a show off.

 

“Watch your language, or I won’t be teaching you anything to do with fire today,” Victor says, blowing out the smoke from his index finger.

 

“Oh whatev- wait, really? We’re really doing fire?” Yuri says, eyes wide.

 

“Isn’t that what you wanted? The ‘advanced stuff’?” Victor shrugs.

 

“Hell yes!” Yuri smirks, crossing his arms confidently. “I’m gonna master the shit outta Fire. Just you wait, Victor, I’ll be raining fireballs down at you like nobody’s business.”

 

“Ah,” Victor only smiles.

 

…

 

Otabek blinks, double-takes, and stares when Yuri returns home that evening smelling of smoke and wood and burnt hair, clothes singed at the edges, with his blonde hair all frizzed out and fried at the ends. He looks like a cat that has unsuccessfully jumped through a ring of fire – and is very, very pissed off about it.

 

Otabek is still staring at him. “Um- what-”

 

“Not a word, Altin,” Yuri scowls.

 

Almost like he is too curious not to, Otabek reaches out and slowly cards his fingers through the abysmal mess that is Yuri’s hair. Some of the burnt ends come off with his fingers in little brittle pieces. Yuri’s hair is now wonky on one side, and Otabek’s lips quirk.

 

“Don’t laugh at me, asshole,” Yuri glares, brushing his hand away. His cheeks feel hot.

 

“I’m not.” Otabek says, his dark eyes crinkling at the edges.

 

 

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took forever, but nonetheless, I am now here and continuing this fic! :) More backstory in this chapter, but there will be more development in the next (*whispers* get excited for more character appearances ;) ) Let me know if you enjoyed it! I'll try to update soon! xx


	4. So good-looking but so very, very annoying

“Let’s go.” Otabek says on a Sunday morning.

 

Yuri, lounging around in the living room, half-heartedly practicing lighting candles as ‘fire magic homework’ for Victor, raises an eyebrow. “Go? Go where?”

 

As far as he is concerned, going places with Otabek is a Bad Idea. Yuri has been trying to get the whole annoying attraction thing under control the past few days, but it’s not easy. Not when you live with the guy and he does all these unfair things. Like cooking Yuri his favourite foods, buying Yuri clothes (when his old ones are all burnt in ‘training’), teaching Yuri words from his mother’s tongue in that deep voice of his, and feeding Yuri’s newly-adopted cat, Loop, as though it was his own.

 

Or even simpler things, like Otabek watering his houseplants with a peaceful caring expression on his face.

 

Or when he’s at the kitchen table drinking coffee in the mornings, and the sun shines through the windows and hit his face angles _just_ right, making his dark eyes shine a warm lighter brown.

 

Or simply just Otabek sitting there. With his arms. And his eyebrows. And that _jawline_ \--

 

…yeah. Yuri _so_ has it under control.

 

Otabek tosses him a duffel bag, “Are you coming with me or not.”

 

How Otabek can just stand there with his flat facial expression and flat tone and basically _not even trying_ and still manage to make Yuri want to follow him everywhere like a little baby chick trailing after its mother hen, Yuri will never know.

 

Lame. So _lame. Get it together, Yuri Plisetsky. Keep it cool._

“Yeah,” Yuri says, _coolly_. “I can go. I guess.” He picks the bag up and casually slings it over his shoulder. _Nailed it._

Otabek nods and turns to start walking. Yuri ends up trotting right after him despite himself.

They end up leaving the palace walls through the back, up small hills and eventually into a forested area. It’s nothing like the greenery of Folkland, but it’s still far better than the neatly-trimmed grasses of the knights’ training grounds. They are going deeper and deeper into the forest, and Yuri isn’t entirely sure what the purpose of this is. Are they hiking? But why? And for one horrifying moment Yuri remembers that his grandpa used to tell him stories about how little kids are led into the forest by older men to be gruesomely murdered.

 

But Yuri isn’t a weak child, and Otabek isn’t some creepy old psychopath, so there’s no way that could happen… right?

 

Otabek is leading him around a suspiciously dark and narrow passing and Yuri is seriously starting to get concerned, when suddenly, Yuri hears it.

 

“Is that _-_ ” Yuri says, green eyes wide. “Is there a _waterfall?_ ”

 

“Yes,” Otabek nods, “Only a small one, but I-”

 

“You had a waterfall just around the corner all this time and you didn’t even tell me!” Yuri shakes him, barely able to stop himself from sprinting off into the direction of the water sounds.

 

Otabek blinks, “I’m telling you now.”

 

“That’s not the point, you should have-” Yuri stops in his tracks.

 

The waterfall is now in full view. And even though, like Otabek said, it’s not the biggest waterfall in the world, but it’s still everything Yuri loves; fresh, crisp-clear water hitting the rocks in a combination of splashes that are like music to his ears; the newly-sprouted light green leaves of baby plants growing in and around the falls; the way it smells like nature, smells like _home_.

 

Wordlessly, Yuri slips off his shoes and, without further warning, does a run-up into a jumping canon ball straight into the water.

 

SPLASH-!

 

“Oi!” Otabek calls, frowning when Yuri doesn’t immediately re-emerge from the water. “ _Yuri_ -”

 

“ _Yes!_ ” Yuri pops up, moments later, laughing openly, emerald eyes practically sparkling as he looks up at the knight. “Otabek, come in!”

 

Otabek’s frown melts from his face at Yuri’s unbidden smile. He shakes his head, “I just took a shower so- wait, Yuri don’t-!”

 

Yuri grabs onto Otabek’s ankles with both hands and, with all his force, _yanks_ the taller man right into the water.

 

SPLASH-!

 

Otabek emerges, slowly, his hair all soaked and glued to his face. He growls, “Yuri…”

 

“Ha!” Yuri cackles wildly, with absolutely no shame. “Take that, you big shot Knight Commander- oomphlarrrgh!”

 

Yuri swallows a mouthful of water when Otabek, that _ass_ , practically body-tackles him into the pool and wrestles Yuri down under the water.

 

“Ha.” Otabek says, a half-smirk on his lips, when Yuri comes back up spluttering and coughing.

 

“You-” Yuri hacks out, “-are a _dick._ ”

 

“Says the one who dragged me in,” Otabek crosses his arms.

 

“Oh, it is on,” Yuri huffs, slicking his hair off his face. He narrows his eyes at Otabek and waggles his fingers at the skin of the water.

 

Otabek tilts his head, “What are you-”

 

Two seconds later, Otabek is hit in the face with by a tidal wave that appears out of nowhere, striking him with enough force to knock a man of Otabek’s musculature right off his feet and into the water once again.

 

Yuri snickers, and then laughs outright when Otabek re-emerges with pondweed stuck on his head.

 

Otabek glares at him when he finally gets all the water out of his eyes, “I thought Victor said ‘no magic unless necessary’.”

 

“Ah, but that was absolutely necessary.” Yuri grins.

 

Otabek stares at him, “You sent a tsunami to my face.”

 

Yuri shrugs, “Don’t be dramatic, it was only a tiny wave.”

 

“Dramatic,” Otabek repeats.

 

Yuri ignores him, “And who cares what Victor says. He’s got me lighting stupid _candles_ all day while he goes running off after some guy he wants to bang. What a twat.”

 

“I thought he was pursuing his soulmate,” Otabek says.

 

“Yeah, that’s what _he_ would say. He thinks everyone is his Tether,” Yuri rolls his eyes.

 

“I’ve read about it. Tethers.” Otabek says, voice considering. “I didn’t think it was real.”

 

“Ah,” Yuri says, “Trust me, it’s very real.”

 

Otabek stares at him hard, “You have one?”

 

“What- _no_. Not even close,” Yuri scoffs. “I was talking about my parents.”

 

“Oh,” Otabek says, and his whole figure relaxes. Yuri finds it rather peculiar.

 

“They met at a waterfall, just like this,” Yuri says, eyes softening as he watches the water splash against the rocks. “It was apparently love at first sight or some sappy cliché like that. Well, that’s what my grandpa tells me anyways. He likes to take me to the falls all the time, too. I think it reminds him of my mother.”

 

Oh, crap. He’s said too much. What the hell – Yuri hasn’t spoken of his parents in _years._ But something about being here, in the falls like he’s always been throughout his childhood, and next to Otabek’s calming, unassuming yet reassuring presence… it’s surprisingly comfortable.

 

“Your mother must have been very beautiful,” Otabek says, softly.

 

Yuri’s breath catches in his throat. The way Otabek’s eyes are on him now makes warm blood rush through him like mulled wine. “I- yeah. Yeah. She was. They said. Anyways,” Yuri shakes his head, not meeting Otabek’s eyes, changing the subject. “How did you know I’d like it here?”

 

Otabek’s eyes never left him. He shrugs, “I had a feeling.”

 

Yuri turns to him, “A feeling?”

 

“Mm,” Otabek says, “When I was younger I didn’t have many friends. There was a waterfall near my parents’ house – it made me feel better when I went there.”

 

Huh. That’s odd. It’s… kind of exactly what Yuri did as a child before the whole ice statues and Victor saga happened. Yuri raises his brows, “You? No friends? But you’re so…” Yuri gestures at him.

 

Otabek quirks his lips, “What?”

 

“ _Alpha male_ type,” Yuri says, “I would’ve thought all the other boys would follow you around like puppies.”

 

Otabek actually chuckles at that (and gods, if that doesn’t make him at least three times more attractive. Damn.). “Quite the opposite. My growth spurt was very delayed. I was the runt and couldn’t catch up to anyone. They got tired of waiting for me.”

 

“Huh,” Yuri says. Unexpected, that they have more in common than Yuri thought. “Well, you sure showed them now, Knight Commander.”

 

Otabek blinks at him, “That’s probably the first time you said it without sounding like you’re actually saying something demeaning.”

 

“Oh? Like what?” Yuri says, amused.

 

“Like ‘arrogant pig’. ‘Insolent human’.” Otabek says, in complete monotone. “‘Annoyingly attractive bastard.”

 

“ _What-_ ” Yuri chokes, flushing beetroot red, “I _never-_ you- I don’t- what- _shut up-!_ ”

 

Otabek raises his brows at him, “I was only joking with the last one, Yuri.”

 

“ _You-_ ” Yuri feels like he’s about to implode. “- _bastard!_ ”

 

He launches at Otabek full-force, and Otabek, all-prepared for the attack, catches him by the waist. They break into a fight, more playful than violent – both of them grinning even as they are snarling at each other – Yuri laughing as he jumps on Otabek’s back and locks his neck from behind; Otabek smirking as he wraps Yuri in his arms bodily before tossing a shrieking Yuri into the water; Yuri smiling victoriously as he climbs onto Otabek’s shoulders and playfully covers Otabek’s eyes and obscures his vision; Otabek chuckling as he carries Yuri bridal-style to restrict his movement whilst Yuri yelps and wriggles in his arms.

 

Many splashes later, their fight ends up on the side of the falls both panting and exhausted as they lie on the riverbank; Yuri’s back on the ground, Otabek crouched over him, pinning both Yuri’s wrists above his head.

 

“You yield?” Otabek says, breathing harshly.

 

“Never,” Yuri sticks out his tongue, emerald eyes glimmering teasingly.

 

Otabek presses in closer, a hand on Yuri’s chest, water dripping from his hair and the tip of his nose onto Yuri’s face. “Yield.”

 

“No,” Yuri says, tilting his chin up haughtily, even though his heart is starting to race from something other than adrenaline.

 

“No?” Otabek growls, his voice now dropped low, his face close enough their noses are almost touching. His eyes are boring into Yuri’s like a spear through his soul.

 

_Oh gods._

 

Yuri can barely think, burning up under his fierce gaze. All Yuri can see is Otabek’s water-glistened lips right _there_ , centimeters from his own. So close he can almost taste this morning’s coffee on Otabek’s breath. So close, that if Yuri tilts his head up only slightly he’d be able to bite Otabek’s lovely full lower lip.

 

Yuri whispers, breathlessly, mischief in his half-lidded eyes, “ _No_.”

 

Otabek swallows, licks his own lips, voice a half-growl as he leans in even more. “ _Yuri_ -”

 

Yuri’s eyes fall shut, his heart beating like a hammer in his chest--

 

\--Someone is clearing their throat. Loudly.

 

Yuri’s eyes fly open.

 

Otabek is still above him, but he’s no longer looking at Yuri. His eyes are looking straight ahead. Yuri turns his neck to look, too – and there stands a man. A very handsome man, admittedly; with classically strong features, complete with deep blue eyes like the oceans, and dark hair styled in a similar military undercut to Otabek’s. He is tall, well-built, and his skin is tanned perfectly throughout from head to toe, glowing like a poster for good health as he leans against a tree bark in a deliberate way that makes his biceps bulge whilst simultaneously showing off the nice curve of his ass.

 

And Yuri scowls, deeply, because he may not know this man, but he’d recognize that goddamn _arrogant_ smirk anywhere.

 

“Hello, lover,” says Jean-Jacques Leroy, fiancé of Knight Commander Otabek Altin, and the Grand Crown Prince of Ecino.

 

 

…

 

 

Yuri has honestly never felt so uncomfortable in his life.

 

Prince Jean-Jacques, or JJ, has been eyeing him across Otabek’s kitchen table with those unnerving indigo eyes solidly this whole time, not once breaking his gaze or the self-assured smile playing on his lips.

 

Yuri wants to smack the smugness right out of him.

 

“So this is the little fairy I’ve been hearing about,” JJ says, resting his chin on his palm, elbow on table, eyes scanning up and down Yuri in a completely shameless manner. “Mm. Pretty. Very pretty.” He turns to Otabek, who is setting out their clothes to dry. “You didn’t tell me this.”

 

“Because I knew you’d meddle,” Otabek says, attention not taken away from the clothes.

 

“Of course,” JJ says, grinning. “You can’t keep something this pretty to yourself.”

 

“It’s for your safety, your highness,” Otabek says, “He doesn’t like humans.”

 

“Everyone likes me,” JJ says, without missing a beat. His eyes are still on Yuri, “And he seems to like you plenty. Isn’t that right, little pretty fairy?”

 

Yuri grinds his teeth. Gods, this man is _irritating_.

 

Otabek sighs, finally turning to face them. “JJ, you agreed you would leave the fairy alone when I asked if he could stay here.”

 

‘The fairy’. Yuri frowns. For some reason, he doesn’t like the way that sounds. Coming from Otabek it’s – distant. Like they haven’t spent weeks eating breakfast together. Like they haven’t sparred so often that they’re beginning to know each other’s tricks. Like they don’t know each other at all. Yuri doesn’t… like that.

 

“Well,” JJ waves a hand, smiling easily, “I changed my mind.”

 

What a shame, Yuri thinks, that someone so good-looking is also so very, very annoying.

 

JJ is leaning over the table on his elbows, chin tilted up, his smile at an angle somewhere between confident and cocky, voice high-pitched and mocking. “What’s your name, pretty?”

 

Oh, Yuri is done with this. He scowls, “What’s it to you, doucheface?”

 

JJ whistles, “Feisty, are we? Do you have any idea who you’re talking to, little fairy?”

 

Yuri rolls his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, you’re the prince. Big fucking deal. Get your head out of your ass, then we’ll talk.”

 

“Oh. He’s rude,” JJ tells Otabek, like it is something extraordinary. “Aren’t fairies supposed to be – I don’t know, nicer?”

 

Yuri promptly gives him the finger.

 

JJ only seems more intrigued. “And he doesn’t seem to like me.”

 

“No shit,” Yuri hisses.

 

JJ looks genuinely confused. Like the concept of him being unlikable to anyone is completely foreign to him. “But I’m the _Prince_.”

 

Yuri frowns, turning to Otabek, “Is he for real? Do people actually fall for this bullshit?”

 

“The people of Ecino find the prince extremely charming, actually,” Otabek says, flatly. “They adore him.”

 

“Thank you, babe,” JJ says, winking at Otabek as he strikes a pose with two hands forming two J’s in front of his chest. _It’s JJ style! Kapow._

“That’s his signature pose,” Otabek explains, with the poker face of someone who has developed immunity to such ridiculousness through many years of exposure. “It’s especially appreciated by the ladies of the court.”

 

“The hell-” Yuri shakes his head, appalled. “Wow, humans are dumb.”

 

“I’m human,” Otabek feels inclined to say.

 

Yuri scoffs, “Yeah, well, you’re engaged to _that_ loser so what does that say about you?”

 

“That Otabek is a man of impeccable taste,” JJ cuts in, standing to loop his arm around Otabek’s waist. “And you should have care how you speak, little fairy. Remember that you’re standing on _my_ palace grounds, living in the house of _my_ fiancé, and it is with my grace that you’re allowed to be here at all and not be spreading your legs in the black market. You know, like the rest of your kind.”

 

Yuri practically _snarls_ at him, “Now listen here you little _shit-_ ”

 

“ _Yuri_ ,” Otabek’s hand is on his shoulder, gentle but firm.

 

And, bizarrely, all the raw anger – the urge to punch this douchebag prince in the face like he _deserves_ – drains out of Yuri, leaving him only moderately agitated. He’s still angry, yes, but the impulse to tear JJ to shreds can now be suppressed. If only just barely.

 

JJ, who either hasn’t realized how close he was to being whacked in the face or is too confident in his combat skills to care, only smiles at Yuri like he could say or do no wrong. “So that’s your name. Yuri. Heh. Sounds like a girl’s name, but I guess that suits your girly face.”

 

Yuri growls.

 

Otabek squeezes his shoulders, frowning at JJ. “You shouldn’t aggravate him.”

 

“Aw, Beka, I’m just teasing,” JJ grins, nonchalantly.

 

Otabek sighs, “How about you go back to the main palace for now?”

 

“Hm? Are you kicking me out?” JJ says, cocking an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Because of the little fairy?”

 

“No. You know I can’t make you do anything, your highness,” Otabek says, calmly. “I’ll meet you back in your room later.”

 

“Fine,” JJ finally agrees. “And you’ll be staying the night, of course.”

 

“Of course,” Otabek says, quietly.

 

And, ugh, if it doesn’t make Yuri absolutely _bitter_. Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing it right in front of him – the intimate way they talk, how Otabek lets JJ sling his arm all possessive around his waist like it’s second nature to him – is downright _awful_. And it’s not just envy (even though Yuri is definitely envious, no matter how reluctant he is to admit it); it bothers Yuri more how _wrong_ it feels for someone like Otabek – wonderful, wonderful Otabek – to be with someone like- like _that_.

 

“Good,” JJ says. Satisfied with Otabek’s answer, the crown prince of Ecino eventually makes his leave-

 

-but not before leaning in to murmur in Yuri’s ear on his way out.

 

“I see the way you look at him, _Yuri_ ,” The Prince whispers, smile not touching his eyes, Yuri’s name rolling off his tongue like something distasteful. “Keep your hands off my knight.”

 

Yuri recoils from him like he is toxic.

 

“Don’t be late, Otabek,” JJ says, standing upright and speaking at normal volume again. “You know I don’t like being kept waiting.”

 

“Yes, your highness,” Otabek nods.

 

JJ sends him one final suggestive wink, chuckling low in his throat as he leaves.

 

Otabek shuts the door behind him with a sigh.

 

“Ugh,” Yuri makes a face. “Your fiancé _sucks._ ”

 

 

…

 

 

That night, Yuri lies on his bed – half pushed out onto the balcony thanks to Otabek – and thinks about the waterfall. And Otabek, warm and heavy over him, eyes as dark as the night sky above, looking deep into him like he wants to swallow Yuri whole.

 

“I couldn’t breathe,” Yuri says, to no one in particular.

 

Loop curls beside his head on the pillow, mewing softly.

 

And the pillow smells like Otabek, because the whole house smells like Otabek, all fresh linen and musky spice at once. And Yuri thinks, as he rolls in the scent, that it cannot be in his head. There was a moment, back there on the riverbank – Otabek’s thumb pressed against the rapid pulse on the inside of his wrist – that felt too raw, too real, too much like clarity, to be mistaken for anything else.

 

But it cannot be, because even right now, Otabek is in that human prince’s room and most likely – Yuri thinks with a grind of his teeth – in his fiancé’s bed. And that is the truth of it, no matter how _wrong_ and unsettled it makes Yuri feel.

 

(Or how _right_ this morning felt.)

 

So it is not possible for that moment to have been anything. It _must_ be all in Yuri’s head. Because Otabek is engaged, and he is human, and there is no way that he could _want-_

And yet-

 

“I couldn’t breathe,” Yuri says again, looking up at the stars.

 

 

…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcoming JJ into this crazy AU, woop. Let me know if you enjoyed this chapter :) I truly love reading all your thoughts! x


	5. The birth of Yuri Angels

After the particularly abysmal first meeting with Prince Jean-Jacques Leroy (or what Yuri likes to think of as ‘Prince Douchebag Royale’, or ‘His Royal Highness the Asshole’), the last thing Yuri expects is to receive a golden-scribed, wax-sealed invitation letter to the grand palace. To attend a _royal banquet_ of all things.

“The fuck?” Yuri says, eloquently, when he hears the news, “But- but _why?_ ”

 

“It’s the Knighting Ceremony for the twelve top-notch militants in our ranks,” Otabek explains, “It is considered a great honor and a token of good luck to have magical beings present at the ceremony, especially fairies of your caliber.”

 

“I’m not some fucking _show pony_ ,” Yuri snides, “If they want good luck go pick a fucking clover.”

 

“A young officer from the first class I ever trained will be knighted,” Otabek says. “To have you there would be a huge honor for him. And for me, too.”

 

Damn it. Damn his stupid knightly honor and his hopeful, honest eyes. And damn Yuri’s heart for leaping in his chest because of them.

 

“I’ll think about it.” Yuri says, eventually.

 

Otabek’s eyes warm, and he reaches out to rest his palm on the side of Yuri’s neck. “Thank you, Yuri.”

 

And Yuri is dumb, _so_ dumb, that such a small thing still melts his insides into one messy, fluffy gloop – especially when Yuri knows, he _knows,_ Otabek has just returned from a night spent with his fiancé, can see the ring on his finger and the tell-tale deep purple bruise on the back of Otabek’s neck that wasn’t there the night before.

 

Fucking JJ must’ve done it on purpose. Yuri curses him internally. That asshole knew Yuri would see. Like hell if Yuri is going to attend the banquet just to see the two of them together again – as far as Yuri is concerned, he is going nowhere _near_ the main palace anytime _ever--_

 

…

 

“You should go,” Victor says, sitting in the front garden porch after their training for the day is done.

 

“What.” Yuri gapes at him.

 

Victor shrugs, “Human banquets are fun. And King Alain’s very excited to meet you. He was practically bouncing when I saw him yesterday. Anyways, I’m going, too, so it’ll look bad if you don’t go.”

 

“Hah? You’re going- wait a minute _-_ ” Yuri says, staring at him. “Since when are you acquaintances with the _King_?”

 

“Oh,” Victor shrugs, “I introduced myself years ago. You didn’t really think they’d let random fairies wander around their palace grounds without the King’s permission, did you? We go riding together. He’s a lovely man. Great swordsmanship, _very_ handsome for his age, wants humans and fairies to join together to fight against the Darks, _and_ he’s very supportive of my quest to win the heart of my potential Tether! Isn’t that great? Oh yes, and now that I’ve mentioned it, I forgot to tell you this funny thing about my almost-Tether, his name-”

 

“Shut up about your crush for a second,” Yuri cuts him off, “Did I just hear you say the human king wants to join forces with us to fight against the Darks?”

 

Victor blinks, “Well, yes, that’s what I’ve just said, isn’t it? We haven’t initiated anything solid yet, though, it’s all still very hush-hush. The people here don’t know, they just think I come around because I’m good friends with the King, which, I am, of course, who wouldn’t want to be-”

 

“ _Victor_ ,” Yuri says, eyes big, “This is huge. Do you even- wait, does _Yakov_ even know?”

 

“Of course Yakov knows,” Victor says, bored. “Why do you think he’s allowed me to come to the capital?”

 

Yuri frowns, “Then why would he send me to come find you?”

 

“Oh, that. Yes, well,” Victors shrugs, “Yakov thinks I’m dilly-dallying and delaying coming back to Folkland for unnecessary reasons. Which, by the way, is _completely_ untrue.”

 

“Because chasing after some man you barely know in a blind, lust-driven quest doesn’t at all count as unnecessary?” Yuri raises a brow.

 

“ _Exactly,_ ” Victor says, gesturing to him with pointy fingers. “And, correction: it’s _love,_ Yuri, not lust.”

 

“Sure,” Yuri says, “Tell that to your new boytoy’s ass until he lets you bone him, then we’ll see how long your ‘love’ lasts.”

 

“It’s gonna last _forever,_ ” Victor snaps, pouting. “Gah, you sound just like Yakov. _So_ not cute.”

 

“I do not sound like Yakov,” Yuri argues. Because, really, that’s just offensive _._

 

“So much youth, yet so cynical,” Victor sighs dramatically, patting the top of Yuri’s head in sympathy. “This is why no one wants to take your flower, Kitten.”

 

“Tch. It’s not for lack of interest,” Yuri sticks out his tongue. “I could totally lose it if I wanted to.”

 

“Oh? Is that so?” Victor says, amused.

 

“Duh,” Yuri says haughtily, “I am like a tiger in the sack.”

 

“A _tiger_ ,” Victor says, smiling. “Wow.”

 

“Oh yes,” Yuri is now on a roll, “I am fucking sex on legs. Eros for _days._ ”

 

“Mm-hm,” Victor hums, “You do have lovely legs.”

 

“Hell _yeah_ I do. And with what I can do with them…” Yuri grabs onto the back of a chair and stretches one leg back so far that he makes a perfect straight line, a 180 degrees standing splits, perpendicular to the floor. He smirks, “Who wouldn’t want to have sex with _this?_ ”

 

“Um,” Otabek – appearing out of fucking _nowhere_ right behind Yuri _–_ stops in his tracks, appearing to be stunned by Yuri’s pose, whose legs are spread right in his direction. With cheeks lightly flushed, he opens his mouth, tries to say something, but all that comes out is, “-ungh.”

 

_Shit._ Yuri immediately tucks his leg back down, turning around and backing himself into a wall. “Otabek! You’re- um- back! So. Hey. Welcome. To your house. This is your house.” _Oh gods, Yuri, don’t make it awkward, don’t make it awkward—_ He raises his hand weakly, “…’sup.” _Fuuuuuck._

Victor, the _wretch_ , is _giggling_ uncontrollably in the corner, clapping his hands delightfully like some dumb seal. Yuri glares at him – from where Victor is sitting he most definitely must have seen Otabek approaching from inside the house, and he did absolutely nothing to warn Yuri.

 

“I’m coming- uh, I mean- I’m here to deliver this,” Otabek clears his throat, pulling out a large cardboard box from behind him. “The Queen sent some outfits for tonight’s banquet. For you and Victor.”

 

“Outfits?” Yuri frowns, at the same time as Victor squeals, “Yay, presents!”

 

Victor gleefully dives into the box, occasionally letting out a few “ooh”s and “ahh”s as he rummages through the piles of clothing. From where Yuri is standing, he can see a whole lot of sparkles and glitter, and Yuri hasn’t decided yet whether he is impressed or offended by it.

 

“You’re not having a look?” Otabek asks, seeing as Yuri is still standing by the wall and only glancing at the clothes over Victor’s shoulders.

 

“I haven’t decided whether I’m going,” Yuri shrugs.

 

“Oh,” Otabek says.

 

“Yuri’s going!” Victor pipes in, holding up what appears to be a rainbow, feathery… thing. Gods. Yuri sure hopes Victor doesn’t go with that one. Or even worse – wants _Yuri_ to wear it. He shudders at the thought.

 

“You are?” Otabek turns to him.

 

Yuri starts to shake his head, “I-”

 

“Yes, he is definitely going.” Victor says, throwing Yuri an article of clothing. “There. You even have an outfit and everything.”

 

Yuri catches the outfit, places it on the chair, and scowls, “Since when do you decide everything for me?”

 

“Since the day you became my apprentice, little one,” Victor says, easily. “Now stop being stubborn and go try it on.”

 

“Victor,” Yuri glares at him. “I don’t _-_ ”

 

“Yuri,” Victor says, sweetly, with just a hint of paternalistic threat, “Go put the bodysuit on before I make our lovely Knight Commander Altin here strip you naked and do it for you.”

 

“ _Hah?!_ ” Yuri splutters, face hot.

 

Otabek, who has been silently observing their interaction, promptly chokes on his saliva. “-!” He coughs, hacking for breath.

 

“Whoa,” Yuri turns to him with wide eyes, “Are you okay?”

 

“I-” Otabek swallows, thickly. “I’m fine.”

 

“Ten seconds, Kitten,” Victor hums, “Ten. Nine. Eight-”

 

“Okay, _okay. Fine._ ” Yuri huffs, snatching the bodysuit off the chair and stomping his way back into the house, growling. “I don’t _like_ you, Victor.”

 

“Ah, yes, I know,” Victor sings, grinning from ear to ear. “Because you _love_ me~”

 

Yuri slams the door in his face.

 

 

…

 

 

According to Victor, the best outfit to attend a royal banquet, _apparently,_ is a skintight pure white bodysuit with mesh detailing across the upper half of the body adorned with white crystals.

 

Yuri, waiting in the backstage of the ballroom with Victor for their entrance to be announced, frowns moodily at his fairy mentor. “Are you sure _this_ ,” Yuri motions to his entire body, “Is a good idea?”

 

“Of course it is,” Victor says, winking. “You look _gorgeous._ ”

 

Well. It’s not like he’s wrong? Victor has always had good taste in cloaks and gowns, and this white bodysuit he picked fits Yuri so perfectly it is almost like it was specifically cut for him, showing off the tone of his limbs and his slim waist. The white of the bodysuit compliments Yuri’s pale skin, the crystals luminescent with his fairy glow, making Yuri practically _sparkle_ with every miniscule movement he makes. The only problem is…

 

“I look like a _fairy_ ,” Yuri complains.

 

Victor tilts his head at him and says, gently, “You _are_ a fairy, Kitten.”

“No, I _know_ that! That’s not what I meant,” Yuri scowls, “It’s just- I look like what the _humans_ think fairies are meant to look like.”

 

“And that is?” Victor says.

 

“Like- _pure_ and shit,” Yuri says, “You know. _Ethereal_ and all that. Barf.”

 

“Ah, but that’s the point!” Victor says happily. “You’re meant to be the young and innocent fairy apprentice, as bright and pure as hope itself.”

 

“And what are _you_ meant to represent?” Yuri snaps.

 

“ _I,_ ” says Victor, gesturing to his fuschia-colored tailcoat, “-am the legendary fairy who has come to this Kingdom, offering a kind, diplomatic hand, to help save the people of Ecino from the evil clutches of the Darks-”

 

“Right. Forget I asked.” Yuri rolls his eyes.

 

“Also,” Victor grins, “I look pretty in pink.”

 

In moments like these, Yuri cannot believe this man is the living legend of Folkland.

 

The voice of the Master of Ceremonies rings within the ballroom, and after a round of applause, the music stops.

 

“That’s our queue,” Victor says.

_“And now, lords and ladies, it is my privilege to present to you, the Vice President of the fairies’ Council along with his apprentice: Victor Nikiforov and Yuri Plisetsky…”_

 

There’s a massive round of applause and even some cheering as the double doors open and Victor and Yuri step into the ballroom.

“ _Smile_ , Kitten,” Victor whispers, pinching Yuri’s back.

 

Yuri jolts, plasters on his social face. Through the gritted teeth of a forced smile, he hisses at Victor, “…why are some of them cheering?”

 

“Because I’m very popular,” Victor says, smiling like a superstar and waving at the people in the hall, who responds with even _more_ cheering and clapping.

 

Yuri is starkly reminded of how Victor is received at social events in Folkland, and really, he probably shouldn’t be surprised anymore that Victor could charm the pants off of any crowd.

 

“ _Oh my… isn’t he pretty?”_

_“He is SO pretty.”_

Uh-huh. That’s pretty much the usual, as far as comments about Victor goes.

_“Right? I even thought he was a female fairy at first!_ ”

 

Ah, that one Yuri hasn’t heard in a while. Not ever since Victor cut off that gloriously long hair of his.

 

_“He’s so small, too! He looks so delicate next to Victor!”_

_“Such a cute apprentice!”_

Wait a minute…

 

“ _I kinda have this urge to protect him…_ ”

 

_“Me too! He totally has this little kitten vibe.”_

_“He looks like an angel!”_

_“Girls, we need to have a chat about starting a fan club for Yuri Plitsetsky immediately!”_

Yuri trips over his own foot. Fortunately, he manages to regain his balance before he falls flat on his face. Thank the gods. That would’ve been embarrassing.

 

Victor chuckles beside him, “Seems like you’re quite popular yourself.”

 

“They think I’m _cute,_ ” Yuri mutters, not looking the least bit impressed.

 

They come over to the royal family’s table, raised on a stage higher than the rest, where King Alain is sitting beside his Queen. Yuri immediately recognizes his resemblance to JJ; the same strong eyebrows and blue eyes that must’ve made him quite an attractive young man back in the days.

 

“Victor!” Alain greets them with a big smile, “So kind of you to join us, it is such an honor for the young men who will be knighted today.”

 

“The pleasure is all mine, King Alain,” Victor says, sweeping down into a graceful bow.

 

Yuri, having attended many of social events with Victor, knows well enough to follow suit.

 

The King smiles warmly at Yuri, “And this must be your talented apprentice.”

 

“Pleased to make your majesty’s acquaintance,” Yuri politely says.

 

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, young man,” The King nods, “Sorry to hear about your experience with the black market. I am afraid it is a taint on our lands that is difficult to get rid of. Has Knight Commander Altin been treating you well?”

 

“Oh. Um, yes,” Yuri blinks, startled at the sudden mention of Otabek. “Yes, your majesty. He has been-” _Great. Wonderful. Perfect._ _So much that I want to snatch him away from your, frankly, nasty son – no offence, your majesty._ Yuri clears his throat, “-very kind to me.”

 

“Good, good,” the King says, looking pleased. “Otabek is a good man. Our JJ has chosen well – hasn’t he, darling?” He turns to the Queen for the last part.

 

Queen Nathalie smiles and pats the King’s hand, “Yes, dear. They’re so lucky to have found each other.”

 

It takes all Yuri has not to pull a face and make disgusting retching noises.

 

“And now, to begin the Knighting Ceremonies,” the Master of Ceremonies announces, “Led by our very own beloved Grand Crown Prince, Jean-Jacques Leroy, please give a warm welcome to Ecino’s Knight Commanders.”

 

Another double doors across the ballroom open, and in strides JJ in full princely glory, dressed in maroon, black, and gold, arrogant grin intact as he greets the crowd.

 

“It’s JJ style!” He calls out, striking that _dumbass signature pose_ of his, his annoyingly perfect teeth shining in the light.

 

The crowd practically _erupts_ in roaring applause and cheer, some even reduced to _tears_ at the mere sight of their prince. JJ waves at the crowd, greeting them with a bright smile much like Victor did, thanking the people for their cheers, blowing kisses at the ladies of the court, making them screech and squeal and- holy shit, did that lady just _faint?_

 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Yuri groans, not believing what he’s seeing.

 

“Well damn,” Victor whistles lowly beside him, “He’s hot.”

 

Yuri snaps his head to glare at him, “Not you too!”

 

Before Victor can say anything in response, the crowd starts clapping again when the Knight Commanders start entering the room, one by one, following after JJ.

 

The first thing Yuri notices is that a lot of them are older than Otabek. Mostly in their thirties or forties. The only other relatively young one out of the twelve knights is Knight Commander of the Eighth Battalion: a tall, athletic man with slightly messy light brown hair and a short beard. Unlike the other older commanders, he walks in with a carefree smile, shaking hands with the lords and ladies as he makes his way to his spot.

 

The cheering begins to grow louder once more and Yuri can almost _sense_ Otabek coming into the room before he can even see him.

 

And, gods, does he look _good._

Otabek is, like all the other commanders, dressed in full knight gear without the armor, clad in black leather and dark blue velvet. His hair, usually left alone, is now slicked back and styled, making the angles of his face appear even sharper, his dark eyes more striking than ever. He’s not smiling, but there’s a sense of pride and quiet confidence in the way that he walks through the crowd, back straight, nodding at the people of the court in acknowledgment and mutual respect.

 

_Goddamn, he looks so cool._

“Kill me,” Yuri murmurs under his breath, “Just slay me right here.”

 

Victor pats his shoulder softly. “Calm down there, tiger.”

 

Yuri doesn’t even have it in him to reply because Otabek is _looking this way_ , and all of a sudden their eyes meet, and Yuri practically stops breathing.

 

Otabek stops, stares unblinkingly at Yuri. He doesn’t move at all, his expression unreadable, until the knight commander after him nudges at his back, making Otabek realize that he’s just stopped and stood there right in the centre of the ballroom. Otabek turns, apologizing, before he continues to walk.

 

He turns back to look at Yuri again, twice, like he couldn’t help himself, before he eventually takes his place alongside the other knight commanders.

 

Yuri feels like there is fire in his arteries, his face and the back of his neck feeling hot all over, his fingertips and toes all tingly like the first time he’s felt the awakening of his magic.

 

Victor crosses his arms, looking from Yuri to Otabek and back again. “ _Eye sex_ ,” He whispers, conclusively.

 

“Shut up,” Yuri hisses at him.

 

 

…

 

 

 

The Knighting Ceremony goes just as expected, with King Alain knighting twelve young men who trained under the different commanders and congratulating them one by one. Unexpected, however, is how the newly knighted men then gets sorted into different battalions by _JJ_ – who, Yuri hasn’t realized until now, is in charge of managing all twelve battalions and is, in fact, Knight Grand Cross and the chief in command for all security of Ecino and its lands.

 

Which is just _annoying,_ really, because JJ is already attractive enough looks-wise, why does he get to be all capable and accomplished as well?

 

(Yuri finds out later that JJ is also the current second-year-running champion of the annual Tournament of Chulanont – a friendly, chivalrous competition for all the knights of Ecino to determine who is the strongest – and is even more pissed off, because, _come on. Really? Really._ )

 

They finish the ceremonial part of the banquet, moving quickly onto the celebrations, and Victor is already pouring himself and Yuri some fancy sparkly golden drink.

 

“What happens now?” Yuri asks him, “Can I leave yet?”

 

“Of course not, now is the best part!” Victor clinks his glass with Yuri, “Now, we celebrate and mingle with the humans.”

 

“Why would I do that?” Yuri frowns.

 

“Because good impressions matter,” Victor says. Then, with an icy smile, “And because I said so.”

 

Victor is a jerk, as far as Yuri is concerned. He grumbles unhappily under his breath and stands silently beside Victor, nodding politely and feigning interest, as courtiers come and go to greet them, all of them excited to be in the company of high-ranking fairies.

 

But none of them were even half as excited as Victor became, when all of a sudden, he grabs Yuri’s wrist and shakes him.

 

“Yuri!” Victor half-squeals, eyes bright, “It’s _him!_ ”

 

“What? Who-” Yuri tries to follow Victor’s line of sight.

 

“There!” Victor says, motioning with his head, “You can’t miss him, he’s a _beauty._ ”

 

Yuri sees a man, and immediately recognizes him as the young officer from Otabek’s battalion who was knighted earlier tonight. Ah. Yuri is not surprised – this man has stood out, beaming with potential, above and beyond all of Otabek’s trainees that Yuri has seen. And, admittedly, he is an attractive young lad – all sunkissed skin and strong features coupled with a gentle, sweet smile. In his red and gold suit, he looks almost like royalty.

 

“A human, huh,” Yuri hums, “Well, it’s certainly unusual, but considering he just got knighted, that’s not terrible-”

 

“Knighted?” Victor looks confused. Then he realizes who Yuri is looking at, “ _Oh_. No, silly, that’s not him. That’s Phichit, his friend. My sweetheart is the one standing beside him.”

 

_‘Sweetheart’._ Yuri cringes, “There’s no one standing-”

 

But sure enough, standing there next to the knight is another young man, so demure and unassuming in his presence he almost blends into the background. He’s holding a tray of those golden drinks, dressed in the palace staff’s uniform. He’s pale, like porcelain, with dark hair and brown eyes and blue-rimmed glasses and- well. That’s basically it. There’s utterly nothing remarkable about him at all.

 

“ _That_ guy?” Yuri says, uncertainly. “Serving the drinks?” Surely, that can’t be…

 

“Yes! That’s him!” Victor is bouncing on his feet excitedly. “Isn’t he _exquisite_?”

 

“Uhh…” No. No, is the plain and simple answer. It’s not like the guy is hideous or anything; in fact, he’s so unoffending everywhere that he’s actually quite pleasant to look at. But that’s the thing. He’s just _plain_. Whilst Victor is just- well. Anything but.

 

“Come, I’ll introduce you,” Victor says, eyes practically sparkling as he grabs Yuri’s wrist and drags him across the floor towards the two humans, calling out with his voice honey-sweet, _“Yuuri!”_

_Huh? Did he just-_

 

The plain man turns around, just as his knight-friend is walking off. His eyes widen when he sees Victor flouncing his way (with a very unimpressed Yuri in tow). “Victor-! What are you- ah-”

 

Victor lets go of Yuri’s wrist to curl his arm around the human’s waist, his free hand coming up to cup the man’s cheek tenderly. His voice drops into a husky whisper, “Have you been well? Are you helping out for your mother? You look gorgeous, by the way.” Victor smiles, eyes lowered as his thumb runs over the man’s bottom lip.

 

_Oh gods, not this again._ Yuri drags a palm down his face. He’s seen, too many times, Victor’s seduction skills – and every time, it never fails to give Yuri the shudders.

 

“Eep!” The human apparently has the same idea, because he _squeaks,_ and abruptly pushes himself out of Victor’s arms. He backs away three steps, his face flushing a deep red.

 

Victor blinks at him, confused. “Hm? Why are you running away?”

 

“Um,” The man says, timidly, “We’re- in a ballroom event.”

 

“Exactly! Isn’t it great?” Victor beams, “Now we can finally dance together, just like-”

 

“Eh?!” His eyes grow big, “We- um- I can’t- we most definitely cannot do that!”

 

Victor tilts his head, “Why not?”

 

“I’m just here serving champagne, I can’t possibly dance with- with the honored royal guest,” he shakes his head vehemently.

 

Yuri cannot believe this. This plain, diffident, stuttering, awkward, _basic_ human is the reason Victor has not returned to Folkland? What a joke.

 

Victor frowns, “But we-”

 

“Victor,” Yuri, getting impatient, jabs at him from behind.

 

“Oh, right!” Victor perks up, bringing Yuri forward, “Yuri, meet Yuuri Katsuki. Yuuri, this is Yurio.”

 

“Oh! Nice to meet you in person,” Katsuki says, bowing slightly. “Victor’s told me a lot about you.”

 

“‘ _Yurio’_?” Yuri says, frowning.

 

“Ah, yes! I forgot to mention. So I was having dinner with Yuuri’s family and I was telling everyone about you, and it kinda got confusing, you know, with your names, so Yuuri’s sister decided to call you Yurio and we just stuck with it,” Victor explains. “It’s cute, suits you.”

 

“Hah?” Yurio snarls. “Who the _fuck_ gave you the permission-”

 

“Language, Yurio,” Victor says, tutting his teeth.

 

“That’s not my name!” And why should _he_ be the one who has to get the alternate name? He’s _The_ Yuri, not the Other Yuri. That plain-ass human should be the one adapting his name, not him. How dare he even have the same name in the first place? And _why_ is Victor looking at this all-around mediocre human with love-heart eyes like he’s the greatest thing to ever grace the lands? Urgh. The whole situation is pissing Yuri off.

 

“I’m getting another drink!” Yuri declares, ready to stomp off.

 

“Er,” Katsuki blinks, offering up his tray-full of champagne, “Here?”

 

_Fuck._ “I don’t want it anymore!” Yuri huffs, refusing to be flustered by this _uninspiring_ human. He stalks away from them, holding his head high.

 

“Where are you going?” Victor calls after him, “Aw, Yurio, come back!”

 

“Don’t call me Yurio!” Yuri snaps at him before stomping away at an accelerated pace, glaring at the floor…

 

…and bumps, face-first, right into the chest of the one and only Knight Commmander Otabek Altin.

 

“Yuri?” Otabek steadies him, those hands big on Yuri’s forearms. “Are you alright?”

 

_Shit. He smells good. Even better than normal. How is that possible?_ Yuri swallows, muttering, “Victor’s being an idiot. Again.”

 

“Ah,” Otabek says, understanding. It’s hardly the first time they have had this conversation. “Something related to his Tether?”

 

“More like his _not_ -Tether,” Yuri makes a face. Now that he’s met the guy he’s even more certain than ever that there is no way that that man, Yuuri Katsuki, is Victor’s Tether. It’s not the fact that he’s an ordinary human, but more the fact that he’s _ordinary._ He’s just not the type _._ Victor needs to be with someone who stands out, commands the crowd just as well as he does. Hell, even some like JJ might be… actually, no. Scratch that. _Hell_ no. That would be _awful._ Yuri shudders at the mental image of Victor and JJ _posing_ together. _Ugh._ Speaking of… “Where’s your prince?”

 

“JJ’s greeting his fans. They can be,” Otabek starts to say, with a long-suffering look. “Excessive. I try to stay away. As much as I can.”

 

_Your fiancé is excessive._ Yuri thinks waspishly. He pokes at Otabek’s chest, “As if you don’t have fans yourself, Knight Commander.”

 

“I don’t,” Otabek says, blankly.

 

“What the hell, of course you do,” Yuri says, “What about all those teddy bears people keep sending you?”

 

There’s a room _full_ of them in the house, of all shapes and sizes. Some of them are dressed in outfits, mainly suits and knight armor, and some even has Otabek’s dark, thick eyebrows over their big round eyes. They’re horrible, really. Yuri doesn’t find them cute. At all. And Yuri definitely hasn’t stolen one to keep under his bed in his guest room to stare at and snuggle with and think about it’s owner to feel all warm and giddy just before he goes off to sleep at night.

 

Yuri absolutely has never done that.

 

“They are from the people of Ecino who wishes to send me their gratitude for my service,” Otabek says. “I assume they send them to all Knight Commanders.”

 

They definitely don’t, Yuri is sure. Well, whatever, Yuri isn’t complaining when Otabek is kind of adorable when he’s being dumb and unaware of his massive fanbase.

 

“You’re probably going to get a following soon, though,” Otabek says, glancing at the courtiers who are looking Yuri’s way.

 

“Huh? Nah.” Yuri shakes his head. “I’m a fairy, they’re just excited about that. It’s not like it’s gonna form any lasting attention.”

 

“Victor’s a fairy and his following rivals that of JJ’s,” Otabek argues.

 

“Yeah, but that’s Victor,” Yuri shrugs, “He’s beautiful. Always has been. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

 

Otabek is staring at Yuri with a strange expression on his face.

 

Yuri’s lips quirk, “What?”

 

Otabek doesn’t say anything, only keeps staring, and it’s making Yuri skin tingle, his cheeks growing warm.

 

Otabek notices this, and with darkened eyes, he brings his hand up, slowly, like he means to touch Yuri’s face, making Yuri’s breath stutter-

 

-when all a sudden, the clock strikes loudly, and the Master of Ceremonies steps back onto the stage.

 

He announces, “It is now time, lords and ladies, to open the dance floor! To do us the honors, please welcome our beloved Prince Jean-Jacques and his fiancé, Knight Commander Otabek Altin.”

 

There’s cheering and clapping everywhere around them, and before Yuri knows it, Otabek is being pulled away by the crowd and onto the dance floor. He turns his head to give Yuri an apologetic look as he is being dragged away, to which Yuri just shakes his head and waves him good luck.

 

Behind Otabek, JJ is already standing by on the dance floor, that self-satisfied smirk widening as his eyes land on Yuri.

 

_Douche._ Yuri thinks, not for the first time.

 

“My knight,” JJ says, grinning as Otabek approaches him.

 

“My Prince,” Otabek says in return, his voice flat even as he continues, “Grand Crown Prince. Knight Grand Cross. Commander Supreme. Two-year running Champion of-”

 

“Alright, alright,” JJ laughs, taking Otabek’s hand. “Just dance with me already.”

 

Otabek nods, bowing to press his lips to the back of JJ’s fingers. “Yes, your highness.”

 

A resounding ‘ _aww’_ came from all around, and Yuri feels like he would suffocate if he has to stand here and be a part of this group of ridiculous humans gushing over their _beloved_ prince and his fiancé.

 

He turns and pushes his way through the crowd, away from the dance floor, not wanting to look at them. The strings quartet has started to play, and Yuri speeds up, not caring to be in that ballroom a second longer.

 

 

…

 

 

Yuri is standing on the balcony of the palace, staring out into the night, when a man approaches him with a soft knock on the doorframe as he comes through.

 

“Mind if I join you?”

 

Yuri recognizes him as one of the Knight Commanders in the lineup from before; the only other young-ish one besides Otabek. Yuri side-eyes him silently as he comes to take a stand next to him, leaning his elbows on the balcony in a casual manner.

 

“I saw you out here,” He says, with a carefree smile, “And can’t help but wonder why such a gorgeous specimen such as yourself would be standing alone out on the balcony.”

 

Yuri says, snippily, “If you’re looking for someone to bed, it’s best to go back inside before you find yourself with a bloody lip.”

 

“Oh, no, that’s not my intention,” the man quickly holds up his hands, chuckling. “Not that you’re not one of the most stunning things I’ve ever seen – but, alas, my heart is already with another man.”

 

Yuri narrows his eyes, “Why aren’t you with this man, then?”

 

“Perhaps for the same reason you’re standing out here,” he says, with a melancholic sigh, “Unfortunately, his heart is not mine. Not yet, anyways. He’s inside, dancing with someone else as we speak.”

 

That, at least, Yuri can relate to. He nods, not giving anything away, “I see.”

 

“Ah, well. There’s always another day,” The man shrugs his shoulders, turning his head to smile at Yuri. “My name is Emil, by the way. Emil Nekola.”

 

“You’re a knight commander,” Yuri says, “I recognize you.”

 

“Knight Commander of the Eighth Battalion, at your service.” Emil salutes and grins, boyishly. “And you are Yuri Plisetsky, the fairy who is the talk of the town.”

 

Yuri raises a brow, “The talk of the town?”

 

“My battalion is in charge of the port area,” Emil says, “There was a lot of talk in the black market about a feisty, gorgeous fairy who escaped their clutches. And when you appeared tonight, you caused quite a ripple here as well.”

 

Yuri snorts, “So you’re the one to blame for those black market dealers being around the port area to capture me in the first place.”

 

Emil smiles sheepishly, “I do apologise. We’re trying our best.”

 

“Try harder,” Yuri says.

 

“If it’s any consolation, I was scolded horribly by all the other knight commanders for that incident,” Emil says, scratching the back of his head. “Especially Knight Commander Altin. Man, Otabek was _angry._ ”

 

Yuri blinks, interest piquing. “He was?”

 

“Yeah. Wouldn’t let me rest until I found out who the capturers were and caught them and brought them to him.” Emil says, “Never seen him so mad. I thought something bad had happened to the Prince when he first stormed in like that.”

 

_Huh_. Yuri thinks.

 

“So, what do you say, Yuri Plitsetsky,” Emil holds out his hand, smiling brightly, “Would you do this poor knight a favor and join me in a dance to possibly make the love of my life notice me?”

 

 

…

 

 

Yuri had stared at Emil Nekola, blinked precisely twice, wrinkled his nose at his offered hand, and had stalked the hell away.

 

But gods, Ecino must be full of weirdos or something, because the damn knight commander chased him across the hall and trailed him like a freaking puppy until everyone was staring at them. And then the dumb man _kneeled_ on the ground in a grand gesture right in the middle of the ballroom and practically bellowed at Yuri to dance with him. Then the stupid crowd joined in, chanting ‘ _Dance with him! Dance with him!_ ’ repeatedly. By that point, Yuri was too embarrassed to do anything else but reluctantly agree.

 

And now, here he is, standing on the dance floor in the arms of a stranger, scowling like a cat.

 

“You’re gonna make the guy you like think that you like me,” Yuri mutters, going through the steps half-heartedly.

 

“That’s kinda the idea,” Emil says, winking.

 

“You’re weird,” Yuri frowns.

 

Emil only smiles, tilting his head. “Love makes people a little weird.”

 

Yuri side-eyes him, “Don’t make me vomit in your face.”

 

Emil laughs, openly, throwing his head back with it. “Man, you’re _mean_. You’re pretty, but so mean!”

 

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Yuri says, dryly.

 

“Nowhere?” Emil says, smiling. “Not even a little bit?”

 

“No,” Yuri says.

 

“Brutal,” Emil laughs again.

 

“Excuse me,” a deep voice rings behind the both of them and Emil jumps, startled.

 

“Ah! Knight Commander Altin,” He greets him with an easy grin, still holding Yuri’s waist in suspended foxtrot. “How can I help?”

 

Yuri turns to see that, indeed, it is Otabek standing there. His dark eyes are narrowed, just slightly, his brows drawn into a frown.

 

“I need to speak with Yuri,” Otabek says, stiffly.

 

“Oh, of course, of course,” Emil says, letting go of Yuri, but not before bringing Yuri’s hand to his lips first, winking at him. “It’s been a pleasure, Yuri Plisetsky.”

 

Yuri watches him saunter away with eyebrows raised. “He’s strange. Is he always like- oh.”

 

Yuri pauses mid-sentence when Otabek pulls Yuri in by the waist and grabs his hand. Almost instantaneously, Yuri feels his face burn and his heart accelerating in his chest.

 

“What-” Yuri starts to say, swallowing thickly.

 

The music is slowing down into a softer, smoother rhythm. Otabek’s face is flat, eyebrows still drawn, when he asks, “Do you waltz?”

 

“I- er-” Yuri clears his throat, far too aware of Otabek’s hand on the small of his back – through his thin bodysuit Yuri can feel the heat of his palm, scorching through his skin like a brand. “Yes. Why? Do you?”

 

“Yes,” Otabek says. And before Yuri knows it, they are waltzing; slowly, with the ebb and flow of the music, Yuri encircled in Otabek’s arms.

 

_Are we meant to be this close? It sure feels like he’s holding me real close – not that I’m complaining. Those arms can trap me for days._

 

Yuri looks up at Otabek’s face and sees those dark eyes staring right back, making his skin prickle. “Hey,” He murmurs, “You said you wanted to talk?”

 

Otabek blinks, like he’s only just realized he’s been staring at Yuri without saying anything for almost half the song. He frowns, “Emil Nekola is a flirt.”

 

“Uh,” Yuri says, uncertainly, “Okay?” That much has seemed pretty obvious to him. That man is all cheeky smiles and winky eyes, his words a compliment one after another. Yuri has grown up around Victor, for heavens’ sake – he knows a flirt when he sees one.

 

Otabek’s frown deepens, like Yuri is not listening to him. Which isn’t fair because Yuri totally is, even though Otabek’s biceps are, admittedly, more than a little bit distracting. “He has his sights set on one of the knights in his battalion. He’s made that very clear.”

 

“Yes. I know,” Yuri says. It was kind of all Emil talked about, really. Wasn’t that was the whole point why he came out to talk to Yuri in the first place?

 

“You-” Otabek seems perplexed by this. “You do?”

 

“Yeah. He mentioned him. A lot.” Yuri rolls his eyes. “As if I don’t get enough of that lovesick bullshit from Victor already. Pft. Trying to dance with me to get his man jealous, what a fool. Why does he think it’ll even work?”

 

“Oh,” Otabek says. Then, “ _Oh_.” Then, after another pause, “I… can see where he’s coming from. The jealousy. I can understand.”

 

“You can? …huh.” Yuri raises a brow. “Must be tough.”

 

“What?” Otabek says.

 

“Your prince is a flirt too, right?” Yuri shrugs, swallowing down the bitter taste in his mouth. “That’s why you understand how shitty it feels to see him dancing with someone else.”

 

_Not talking from the experience of seeing you dance with JJ. Not even a little._ Yeah, Yuri supposes he gets it too. Emil might have the right idea after all.

 

“Ah, yes,” Otabek says, slowly. “Right. JJ is- he’s a prince. He socializes. It’s part of his whole… thing.” Otabek mimics JJ’s hand pose with one hand.

 

“Please,” Yuri scoffs, and before he can stop himself, blurts, “I can never picture him as your type.”

 

Stupid. _Stupid._ As if saying it would change anything. As if Yuri knows what Otabek’s type would be.

 

Completely unexpectedly, Otabek snorts. “He’s not.”

 

“What?” Yuri blinks at him, owlishly. “But you’re marrying him.”

 

“I am,” Otabek says, matter-of-factly. “To be fair, I’m not his type, either.”

 

_Then why?_ Yuri wants to ask, but he bites his tongue down. Instead, he asks, “What’s his type then?”

 

Otabek considers this, “Probably similar to mine. We liked similar things growing up.”

 

Yuri tilts his head, blonde hair falling over his collarbones, “And that is?”

 

Otabek looks at Yuri. His eyes trail down to where the tips of Yuri’s hair falls, then slowly back up to his face. After a breath, he murmurs, eyes dark, “Someone beautiful.”

And Yuri has to tell himself, repeatedly, to breathe, to cool his face, to not let his heart trip all over the way Otabek is looking at him right now. Because it doesn’t mean anything. Yuri has to stop getting all caught up in his head – he refuses to be like Emil, or Victor, who are so blinded by their affections that they see everything with pink-tinted vision.

 

“Careful, Knight Commander,” Yuri teases, though it is a little forced. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you’re the one being flirty just now.”

 

Otabek, strangely, appears startled by Yuri’s words, “I-”

 

He doesn’t get to finish whatever it is he means to say, because all of a sudden, a massive explosion booms from the far end of the hall, followed by shrieks of panic and fear.

 

Yuri and Otabek immediately whip themselves around to see what is happening, bodies tense, and Yuri’s eyes widen when he sees it.

 

There are flames, as to be expected from an explosion, but they are no ordinary flames. These flames are deep violet, and the smoke that rises from them are ink-black as they creep, in vicious curls, up the walls like poison seeping into skin.

 

From the centre of the blast, three figures emerge from the shadows. Long black nails, hair falling over their faces, skin which are luminescent with not light, but a greyish, ghoul-like translucency; three identical grins, stretched unnaturally across their faces like centipedes, not touching their eyes – all black, like obsidian.

 

Yuri’s skin crawls, his blood running cold. He knows exactly what they are even before he hears someone screaming,

 

“ _Dark fairies!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anddddd... cliffhanger. Also, actual plot development xD I initially meant to cut this chapter into two parts but just didn't know where to do it, so here you go, have one big chunk of a chapter. Hope you enjoyed it - let me know what you think! My soul feeds off your comments like JJ living off his fanbase's cheers <3


	6. Stupid Darks are Stupid

Yuri’s heart is pounding. For a moment, he was so horror-struck by the image of the three dark fairies encroaching upon the grand hall that he couldn’t even move. He has seen Darks before, but only in the context of them approaching Folkland; Folkland, home, surrounded by protective wards, where the fey army would by en-route, and Yuri would know exactly what to do. Back home there were rules, there were protocols, and those were the methods that have been tried and tested to _work._ Never in Yuri’s life has he had any real fear that the Darks would be able to breach Folkland’s borders.

 

However, this – this surprise attack upon Ecino that plopped the Darks right in the epicenter of their masses, screaming humans running scattered and falling all over each other; the threat hear is _real._

“Yuri,” A deep voice calls him.

 

Yuri turns, startled, to see Otabek looking at him intently. His dark eyes are serious, taking in the chaos unfolding behind Yuri with calculation – the eyes of a commander. And yet, Yuri can see a sliver of uncertain fear within them too. And Yuri realizes with sudden clarity that these humans, Otabek included, have never seen a single Dark in their lives.

 

Otabek is looking at him for direction, and Yuri feels his shoulders set with the responsibility of it; the weight of his trust.

 

“We need to evacuate the people,” Yuri says, voice pressed low. “Have you ever seen a battle between fairies before?”

 

Otabek shakes his head.

 

“You’ll want as many people out of the way as possible.” Yuri scans the room, “I need to find Victor.”

 

“Okay,” Otabek nods. Then, after a flicker of hesitation, he reaches over to give Yuri’s shoulder a firm, warm squeeze. “Stay safe.”

 

Yuri tries not to let the chills that gives him show as he quickly nods back, throat suddenly too dry to throw back any quips. A millisecond of eye contact where turquoise meets brown, and then Yuri is off, eyes scanning wildly for his mentor. In the corner of his vision, he sees Otabek communing with the other knight commanders, their Crown Prince JJ among them, tossing Otabek a sword.

 

The smoke from the violaceous flames roused by the Darks have now formed thick, inky tendrils as they crawled off the walls and ceilings and sunk onto the floor. Some had solidified into black curling vines that bury straight through the marble, setting cracks into the ground; some are growing back up to twine around the ankles of terrified humans, tripping them up and restraining them. The humans fall, kicking and screaming, but to no avail.

 

Yuri runs towards a group of trapped humans. He spreads his hands, feels a gust of wind between his fingers, and think: _slice._

The vines around the ankles of the humans are cut from their roots all at once, with sharp strikes of the wind like blades.

 

The humans, now freed, look up at Yuri in awe, stars in their eyes.

 

“Go,” Yuri snaps at them, no time to spare for their weird fairy-fangirling. They blink owlishly at him. Yuri glares, “Go!” They do scatter then, but not withput turning back to glance at Yuri more than once. Yuri pays them no mind, swiftly moving on to help free the rest of the humans.

 

The three Dark fairies are looking around themselves, dumbfounded. They have sensed the foreign magic in the air.

 

“Oi,” the shortest of them growls at the female in the centre. “I thought you said there weren’t any wizards around here anymore.”

 

“There _isn’t,_ ” The red-headed female Dark scowls.

 

“Well then who’s magic is countering the vines?” The other Dark, the tallest of the three, tilts his head.

 

“If I knew,” The redhead hisses, “Then I’d be getting rid of them, wouldn’t I?”

 

“Oh,” Tall and Short says, in unison. “Right.”

 

“Idiots,” The female Dark rolls her eyes. “Just focus on what we’re here for. I’ll deal with whatever second-rate mage they have around.”

 

“ _Your mum_ is second rate,” Yuri scoffs under his breath, hiding behind a pillar as he watches the Darks. The redhead is standing in the centre between the two males, arms crossed as she scans the room with her eyes. _So she’s the leader, huh._

The Darks, for all the flames and the smoky vines they are leaving in their wake, don’t actually seem to be aiming for complete destruction of the place just yet. It’s almost like they are standing around waiting for something – but for what? Yuri had known Darks to work together before, but not often is there such a clear leader in the group like the redhead appears to be with these three. It seems they haven’t spotted Yuri amongst the chaos yet, or Victor, for that matter. Speaking of which-

 

“Where the _fuck_ is Victor,” Yuri mutters as he frees more people from the vines from his hiding spot behind the pillar.

 

“Language,” Victor’s melodic voice suddenly pipes up from the other side of the pillar. He sighs, all melancholic-like. “Kids these days.”

 

“ _Victor,_ ” Yuri half-yells and half-whispers. “What- _where were you?!_ ”

 

Victor hums, “Something’s weird. They shouldn’t be able to get here the way they did. I had protection wards up. Not that many, but these Darks shouldn’t be strong enough to overcome them, especially not without my knowing. But I went to check on the wards just now and they are completely gone.”

 

“They nulled _your_ wards?” Yuri frowns. It takes Yuri _days_ to even marginally dull down Victor’s wards, and there’s no way Victor wouldn’t have noticed that sort of effort.

 

“No, not nulled,” Victor says, and Yuri can tell from his voice that he is frowning. “Gone. Like, gone-gone. Adios. No ward there whatsoever.”

 

“That’s-” Impossible. Yuri shakes his head. “You can’t get rid of magic with magic.” The Darks may be corrupted but the magic they wield is still made of the same substance as other fairies’. And magic can _counter_ magic, but never _cancel_ each other.

 

Victor is tapping his palm on the pillar, “Mm. Like I said, something’s weird, Yurio.”

 

Yuri’s face twitches, “Are you seriously going to keep calling me-”

 

There is a loud crack sounding somewhere Yuri can’t see.

 

“Uh-oh. Duty calls.” Victor swings around the pillar to tap Yuri lightly on the cheek, “Back me up, won’t cha?”

 

Then Victor is off, and Yuri doesn’t have any time to protest. He pokes his head around the pillar and sees that the Darks have twined one of their smoke vines onto a very large chandelier in the middle of the room, unhooking the massive glass structure, and all of a sudden the chandelier is _falling_ and there were _people right under it and-_

“Now, now,” Victor muses, “Don’t go breaking King Alain’s most expensive things. I do hate when my friends get upset.”

 

The chandelier is suspended mid-air in a gust of twirling wind, the little glass droplets hanging off it twinkling against each other in an almost-pleasant chime, Vicotr whistles lowly, and the chandelier is set down to the floor with feather-like gentleness, away from the civilians, not a single crack in the glass crystals.

 

 _Show-off._ Yuri rolls his eyes. Trust Victor to say douchebag cliché things like that too, like he’s some sort of superstar hero. (Which, really, he sort of is. At least in Folkland. But Yuri refuses to be impressed. Not anymore. At least not outwardly.)

 

“ _Nikiforov,_ ” The female Dark snarls loudly when she sees him. “Why are you here?”

 

“ _That’s_ Nikiforov? As in _The_ Victor Nikiforov?” Tall One says, eyes comically wide. “Well, fuck.”

 

“We are so dead,” Short One groans. “Soooo dead.”

 

“Shut up!” The redhead barks at him. “We are not scared of you, Nikiforov.”

 

“We’re not?” Tall One asks, with genuine curiosity.

 

“No!” She snaps.

 

“We are so dead,” Short One says, glumly.

 

“Stop saying that!” Redhead looks on the verge of pulling her hair out.

 

“Your friends aren’t wrong, you know,” Victor shrugs, leaning against a table, casually twirling a finger in his hair.

 

 _Like a douchebag._ Yuri fights the urge to air-kick the side of his mentor’s head.

 

“There’s only one of you, and there’s three of us. Even you, the legend of Folkland, are not that strong, Nikiforov.” The She-Dark advances towards Victor, stretching her fingers, eyes growing darker.

 

“Ah, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. Point one: I am that strong. Hence, Legend. And two: who says I’m alone?” Victor grins, opening his palms upwards. “That’s your cue, kitten.”

 

 _I’m so gonna whack him in the head later._ Yuri thinks grimly, even as he dutifully opens his hands and draws the strands of magic within him towards his palms.

 

Ice. His first and strongest element. Yuri feels his magic taking form even before he sees it.

 

“Huh? What are you-!” The Tall one couldn’t finish his question as an onslaught of hundreds of knife-sharp shards of ice attacks the Darks.

 

Short One drops to the ground, his palms flat against the floor, and before any of the ice shards can hit the Darks a wall of violet flames rise up to counter the ice, melting them as they clash into the fire.

 

Tch. Yuri clicks his tongue against his teeth.

 

“Your rumored apprectice. I see.” Redhead narrows her eyes, spotting Yuri behind the pillar. “Young, isn’t he?” Her mouth quirks at the corners. “Young ones are the weakest.”

 

With a flip of both wrists, the female Dark brings all the smoking vines in the hall towards Yuri at superspeed, wrapping Yuri from ankle to jaw before Yuri can even yelp.

 

The vines are constricting him in their hold, and Yuri gasps as they crush in on him, feeling his bones pop in their joints. Yuri thinks _freeze,_ and manages to break off a few chunks of frozen vines, but new ones quickly replace them and continue to curl around him like a boa. The redheaded Dark smirks at him, lips cracking horribly as they stretch over her face.

 

“Oi,” Victor says, voice cold. “Don’t bully my apprentice.”

 

Victor tilts his head, and there is a rumble. Then, all of the sudden, the ground opens up beneath the three Darks’ feet, creating a giant jagged gape, swallowing them up in the crack. They screech as they fall, the redhead losing her hold on the black vines.

 

Yuri manages to freeze the vines once again and kicks himself out of them, rolling to his feet and brushing himself off. “Stupid Darks,” Yuri mutters as he kicks a frozen piece away with a grimace. “Such dicks.”

 

“You should’ve been able to counter that,” Victor says in his mentor-voice, stern even as he comes over to spin Yuri around and pat him down to check for any cuts or bruises.

 

There are a lot of things Yuri wants to say. Things like, _you could’ve countered it for me_ , or, _I didn’t see it coming,_ or, _well it would’ve been helpful if you weren’t too busy posing_ , or, _I would’ve used fire but you decided to teach that to me too late!_ But all of them sounded either too petty or too much like excuses that Yuri only resorts to scowling at Victor.

 

“Don’t make that face. Just do better next time.” Victor pats Yuri atop his head – patronizingly – which only serves to piss Yuri off further.

 

A slim, tan-skinned man is jogging towards them, sword at his hips. Yuri recognizes him as the newly-knighted officer from Otabek’s battalion.

 

“We’ve evacuated more than half of the civilians to a safe place, sir,” he bows politely to Victor, and then to Yuri.

 

“Ooh,” Victor whispers, “He calls me ‘sir’.”

 

Yuri elbows him in the side. “Not the time, Victor.”

 

Victor winces, and turns to the young knight. “You’re- Phichit, right? Yuuri’s friend.”

 

“Ah, yes, sir,” Phichit nods, smiling.

 

“Huh? He’s not my-” Oh. Of course. _Katsuki._ Yuri grimaces. “Right. Your dumbass crush that you can never shut up abo- ow! Victor!”

 

Victor smiles angelically, like he hasn’t just jabbed Yuri in the ribs. “Thanks for the report, Phichit. And how is the King?”

 

“Escorted to safety with the Queen, sir.”

 

“Good, good,” Victor nods. “And the Crown Prince?”

 

“Prince JJ is out here helping out with the evacuation, just over there.” Phichit points towards the back of the hall. Sure enough, there he is, the golden Prince Jean-Jacques, Otabek by his side, rallying the knights and guiding their people to safety.

 

Victor frowns. “He shouldn’t be out here.”

 

“He’s our Knight Grand Cross as well as our Prince, sir,” Phichit says, with no small amount of pride. “Knight Commander Altin and our Prince would never leave their people to escape to safety first. They are the heroes of our lands.”

 

Yuri resists the urge to rolls his eyes. Not at the mention of Otabek, of course. But JJ? Yeah. Definitely deserves an eye-roll.

 

“Yes, well, I get that,” Victor starts to say, “But he’s still a _prince_ , and he should be kept safe especially when the enemy has clearly targeted the Grand Palace. The threat of the Darks is no laughing matter-”

 

As if on cue, a twisted-looking creature about the size of a large dog leaps out from the gaping hole in the ground that Victor has created. The animal looks like a wild boar, but its horns are twisted and jagged, its fur blood-matted and patchy, with eyes shining with a crazed purple hue. It is part-drooling and part-frothing at the mouth, and not only does it look like death, it reeks of it, too.

 

“Ick,” Yuri cringes at the sight of the thing, stepping in to have a closer lok. “What the heck-”

 

“Step back,” Victor yanks him back, voice stern. “That’s a Dark Beast. I don’t- they shouldn’t be able to summon them in the city- Yurio, watch out!”

 

Yuri ducks just in time to miss the ghastly thing bounding at him. Unfortunately, the beast ended up attacking Phichit instead. The young knight pulls out his sword and manages to spear the creature right through, but even stuck on Phichit’s sword, the beast continues to wriggle and screech.

 

“What- what is this…” Phichit stares at the frothing boar in horror.

 

Victor swipes his hand towards their direction, and the boar’s head is sliced clean off its body with blade-like precision. The beast drops to the ground and finally, finally stops moving.

 

“You need to cut its head off or burn it,” Victor says, “They’re stubborn little shits to kill.”

 

“I warned you not to underestimate us, Nikiforov!” The She-Dark’s throaty voice echoes from the crack in the ground. Slowly, she emerges, a disgusting grin on her face as she crawls out. “My brothers,” She calls, and Tall and Short climb up to join her, looking ragged but angrier than before. Their eyes have now gone so dark that even the sclera has been tinged. The redheaded Dark claps her hands once. “Release the wild ones.”

 

The two male Darks’ eyes roll back into their heads, bodies quivering, hair standing on ends, dark magic crackling between their fingers. From behind them, the crack in the ground gapes open with a long, awful screech – and from there, a release of a pack of Dark Beasts.

 

Yuri stares, horrified at the image. These are no wild boars. These Dark Beasts are _big._ Wolves, tigers, and even freaking _bears_ are coming out of the ground, all with the same crazed purple hue in their eyes, and there are a _lot_ of them. Following them came oversized rats and moles and creepy crawly insects and reptiles, faster than the big ones as they rush towards the civilians gathered at the back of the hall.

 

“Spread the word to the other knight commanders, tell them what I’ve told you,” Victor instructs Phichit. “I’ll do what I can but this is- we will require your assistance.”

 

“Yes, sir!” Phichit salutes, and sets off.

 

A Dark Beast fox starts chasing after him, but Victor flicks his wrist and sets it on fire. He whips around and throws fireballs at most of the bigger creatures, but the smaller, faster ones are harder to catch. Victor then swipes his arm and raises a line of fire far behind, preventing some of the smaller animals from crossing over to the civilians’ side. However, there are too many of the beasts, and some eventually find their way through by running over the bodies of their fallen dead. And more are emerging from the ground still.

 

Victor swears under his breath, grabbing Yuri’s wrist. “I need you to deal with the Dark Beasts.”

 

“I-” Yuri bites his lips. “Fire. I’m- I don’t have control of it, I can’t-”

 

“Then don’t use fire. Use whatever else you have.” Victor squeezes his wrist, “You can do this.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“The Darks have left me no choice,” Victor sighs, eyes hardening. “I’m going for them.”

 

Yuri nods, and Victor sets off. He heads towards where the Darks are standing, throwing fire at any beasts in his range along the way.

 

 _I don’t have to use fire._ Yuri concentrates on pulling the magic within him to surface. He thinks _grow_ and _push_ and _curl;_ and he can feel it, under his feet, the call of his magic pulling at the ground, and how the earth suddenly feels like it is one with him.

 

_Not fire, but-_

Massive tree braches break through the glass windows of the grand hall then, and under Yuri’s magic they aim for the Dark Beasts, trapping them in their holds. Once held immobile, Yuri clenches his fists and think, _slice slice slice_ , and one-by-one, he conjures ice blades out of thin air to cut through the beasts’ necks.

 

Before Yuri can slice off the head of a particularly large tiger, he turns to find that the beast’s head is already on the ground. Above it, Knight Commander Otabek Altin stands with a bloody sword. Yuri blinks, suddenly aware of the room around him. He can see that the knights have scattered themselves into the fray, cutting down the beasts and assisting with Yuri’s captures.

 

Yuri shifts his eyes back to Otabek, who nods at him, dark brown eyes the same warmth as when he had his hand on Yuri’s shoulder just before.

And Yuri nods back, and he thinks: I can do this.

 

“Plisetsky!” JJ calls out to him. The Prince is amongst the battleground, swinging two swords, one in each hand. “If you can stop them from moving too much, my knights can handle it from there.”

 

And as much as Yuri may dislike the guy, he knows the Prince’s plan is sound. So Yuri pulls in more branches from the outside – _grow, push, curl –_ thankful that the grand hall is surrounded by trees. Then, _spike,_ as Yuri materializes large ice and rock spikes and drops them on top of the beasts to immobilize them. He continues to do this, again and again, and before he knows it Yuri finds himself already panting with how much magic he is using simultaneously. The drain on him is wonderful, though, like a slow burn through his whole body, even when he can feel it wrecking through him every time a large pull of it leaves through his fingertips and feet. The deep ache of it leaves him breathless, but at the same time is almost- addictive. The way the adrenaline rushes through his veins, he can feel how much strength, how much _power_ he can draw from the elements around him, like everything belongs to him.

 

This is why faeries go Dark, Yuri thinks absently, amidst the chaos. This pull, this rush. The _power._

“Yuri!” That’s Otabek’s voice yelling at him, and Yuri turns around to see a huge wolf jumping at him, its jaw mere inches away from Yuri’s face.

 

Yuri doesn’t even flinch. _Stab,_ Yuri thinks, and opens up his palm. A large icicle, the size of a long sword, sprouts out from his open hand and spears right through the beast’s throat and out through its back, stopping the beast in its tracks.

 

Otabek follows closely behind it, swinging his sword clean through its neck. The Knight Commander is breathing hard, dark blood spattered over the side of his chest. His brown eyes remain on Yuri as the wolf falls dead to the ground, Yuri’s icicle still embedded in it.

 

“You,” Otabek says. Then stops, as if he does not know what to say.

 

“Thank you,” Yuri tells him. His voice is breathy from exertion, and only now does Yuri realize how his body is trembling, almost humming with the amount of magic he is channeling.

 

Otabek’s eyes are still on him, more dark and intense with the rush of battle. There is sweat and scratch marks and blood all over him, and Yuri cannot look away.

 

Otabek, for that matter, cannot seem to look away from Yuri either.

 

Unthinkingly, Yuri reaches out to him. There is no thought or reason to it, apart from the imminent sense that Yuri _has_ to feel him. Otabek, as though drawn by a magnet, steps closer into him – and the moment Yuri’s outstretched hand reaches Otabek’s chest—

 

It is as though time has stopped. There is no sound, no movement, not a single other living being around them.

 

And then, the _burn_.

 

Hot and bright, like the sun, starting from Yuri’s fingertips where Otabek is, spreading through his veins and along his skin like tiny explosions; hotter than lava, yet, so shockingly cold like spikes of ice prickling in the very pores of his skin. Eventually, everything settles in at Yuri’s core, pulsing and burning with every heartbeat until Yuri’s entire body is shaking with it.

 

And it is bright – so very, very bright – right in the centre of Yuri’s chest, of Yuri’s _being_ , blinding in its light. And it is- Yuri can see the light reflected in Otabek’s eyes and it is—

 

Yuri’s ears are ringing, his blood is on fire, and his heart is about to _burst_ right out of his ribcage—

 

Yuri gasps, loudly, falling back on his heels, jerking his hand away. And suddenly everything returns to him, movement, sound, the noise of the battle around them, the screeching of the Beasts, the clangs of metal.

 

Otabek, staring at him. “Yuri...?”

 

Yuri shakes his head, still wobbly on his knees. “I-” He croaks, then stops. How is he to explain what just happened, when he doesn’t know himself?

 

The moment is broken when a blood-curdling sceam comes from the other end of the hall. Both Yuri and Otabek snap their heads to look.

 

Victor is standing opposite the female Dark, who is now trapped up to her neck in stone. Beside them, the two male Darks – previously levitated in the air – drops to the ground with heavy thuds. There is blood leaving from their mouths and noses and ears, their eyes dull and without light.

 

One look at Victor’s face, grim and cold, and Yuri knows without a doubt that the two male Darks are dead.

 

The Dark Beasts have stopped coming.

 

The redheaded Dark is shrieking, anger written all over her face. “ _You!_ ” She glares at Victor, her eyes bloodshot. “You killed them!”

 

“You tried to kill everyone.” Victor’s voice is monotone. “You would be dead, too, if I didn’t have questions. So tell me,” Victor steps closer to her, “How did you get rid of my wards?”

 

The Dark spits at the ground before Victor and laughs manically, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

 

Victor crosses his arms, “I don’t usually resort to torture, but I know a few people who would _gladly_ lend a hand.”

 

She narrows her eyes at him, “You’ll pay for what you’ve done, Nikiforov.”

 

Victor scoffs, “You can’t touch me.” He motions to her state, “Evidently.”

 

“No,” She tilts her head, like she is listening for something, her fiery hair falling over her wicked smile. “But something else can.”

 

Victor is frowning, narrowing his eyes as he scans the area around them like he has noticed something. It takes a while, but eventually Yuri feels it too. The ground below their feet is… shaking? Not like an earthquake, but rhythmically the ground shudders under them, almost like- footsteps. Of something _large._

Yuri tenses his hands, feeling his magic prickle. Beside him, Otabek is gearing up his sword in a battle stance.

 

What now? Another Dark? Another Beast? A _boss-level_ type of Dark Beast?

 

Even the Dark Beasts in the hall have become more crazed and manic, making the knights’ job of eliminating them harder.

 

The Dark is laughing hysterically, her shrill voice cackling through the ballroom.

 

Then, Yuri hears it.

 

A roar, so loud and powerful that it rumbles the very ceilings of the palace.

 

Chills run down Yuri’s spine as his magic rears up within him as though in retaliation to the threat. Yuri clenches his fists.

“ _Impossible_ ,” Victor is glaring at the female Dark. “One has not awoken in hundreds of years.”

 

The Dark only smiles at him, all teeth. “Until now.”

 

“Victor!” Yuri calls to him. “What is happening-”

 

Another roar, terrifyingly loud, and the whole hall shakes with a great heave- before the wall on the far end o the grand hall tears apart like cardboard, crumbling to dust. There is smoke and plaster billowing everywhere, and from the darkness, the owner of that magnificent roar emerges.

 

“Holy shit-” Yuri gasps, not believing his eyes, “A _dragon?!_ ”

 

Yeah. Definitely boss-level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hi. *waves sheepishly* It only took a year and a little bit, but hey, at least we got there! I actually had to re-type the whole chapter as my computer decided it wants to randomly delete my file and I had to recover it from the depths of cyberland. It is a dark, dark place with absolutely no formatting and weird boxes between letters and- anyways. What I'm trying to say is I retyped the whole chapter in a flash, so if you spot any typos, please forgive me.
> 
> And so sorry to leave it on another cliffhanger - but the next chapter is already a third written-ish so it definitely won't be long (or at least not a year...). 
> 
> I would love to hear if you enjoyed this story - let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! x


	7. It's terribly cliché

“Holy shit-” Yuri gasps, not believing his eyes, “A _dragon?!_ ”

 

And indeed it was.

 

The dragon was as tall as the ceiling, its wingspan as wide as the walls. It is black from head to tail, gleaming like obsidian, its scales glossy with a hint of deep blue when struck by moonlight. Its wings, spread dramatically, look as big as the sails of a ship. It has two arms and two legs, all clawed, with additional clawed tips on the angles of its wings, and two long straight horns bowing backwards against its head; ink black, just like the rest of its body.

 

It was huge. It was terrifying.

 

It was the coolest damn thing Yuri Plisetsky has ever seen in his life.

 

The dragon’s eyes – metallic, liquid grey like mercury – scan the room sharply. It spots the redheaded Dark and bares its teeth, hissing at her threateningly, revealing multiple rows of knife-sharp teeth.

 

“ _Sooo cool,_ ” Yuri breathes.

 

Otabek stares at Yuri like he has lost his damn mind. Instinctively and very knight-commander-like, he steps out in front of Yuri, putting the small fairy behind his protection.

 

And that’s- cute.

 

But, also, _what the fuck_.

 

Yuri steps back right out beside Otabek again so that they are facing the dragon side-by-side.

 

“What are you doing?” Otabek frowns at him, sword in hand in battle-stance. “Get behind-”

 

Yuri is having none of it. He glowers at Otabek, magic illuminating under his skin, ready to shoot off at any moment. “Treat me like a damsel in distress again and I will hit you. With magic. In the _face_.” Your stupid, dreamy handsome face. Yeah, there are a few things Yuri can imagine he would like to do to that face and- _shut up brain. So not the time!_

 

The look Otabek gives him then is part frustration and part irritation, but also, strangely, deeply pleased; and it makes blood boil warm in Yuri’s gut like nothing else. Not as burning bright as whatever _that_ was, moments before – but Yuri thinks it would be doubtful for anything to ever compare to _that_.

 

The dragon has crawled inside the hall further, coming up behind the redheaded Dark who was still stuck partially in stone. Closer up, the dragon is even more exceptional – majestic in every glide of muscle under those magnificent scales, almost glowing with every pulse of its blood. And Yuri remembers a lesson from long ago, learning about how dragons are one of the rare creatures made purely of magic; natural, ancient magic, like that which flows in the deep currents of the sea and sits boiling in the lava of volcanoes.

 

The kind that makes the magic of faeries’ completely useless against them.

 

Victor, who obviously knows this, has taken a few steps back, cautiously watching for the dragon’s next move.

 

“There are two faeries here,” The Dark motions at the dragon with her head, “Get the silver-haired one first.”

 

The dragon shifts its gaze towards Victor’s direction. Victor tenses.

 

“Victor?” Yuri calls out to his mentor uncertainly.

 

“Stay where you are,” Victor says tersely, not taking his eyes off the dragon.

 

Yuri’s finger twitches, wanting to do _something_ but not knowing what. Yuri can see Otabek is also getting agitated as he stands besides him, clenching his hands around the hilt of his sword.

 

The dragon advances towards Victor, slowly, metal eyes large and unblinking. Victor doesn’t move, maintaining eye contact with the large creature, standing his ground even when the dragon has come so close it is literally breathing over him. The dragon tilts its head at Victor curiously, bending its neck to peer down at the silver-haired fairy who is only as tall as its forearm.

 

The dragon is close enough to Victor that it only has to open its mouth and Victor would be swallowed whole. Yuri wants to jump, to punch Victor, to scream at his mentor to freaking _do something already you are going to die you fucking idiot-_

The dragon sniffs at Victor, once, twice, before it raises its head back up, blinking at him.

 

“What are you doing?!” The Dark shrieks at the dragon from behind. “Kill him! I want him dead!”

 

The dragon glances at her as if annoyed, before ignoring her screeching entirely. Instead, it neatly side-steps Victor as though deliberately, before crawling farther into the hall. It passes Yuri and Otabek, pausing momentarily to spare them a brief look, two blinks, before continuing on its path forward. The knights in the hall, still fighting off the remaining Dark Beasts, wisely back away from the dragon’s way, its path opening up like the red sea.

 

The Dark is yelling loudly at the dragon but it pays her no mind – frankly, it doesn’t seem to care about the Dark at all.

 

“It’s heading towards the civilians,” Otabek murmurs, sounding alarmed.

 

“Damn,” Yuri frowns, “Not sure what we can do about that.”

 

Victor comes to stand beside them, speaking lowly. “Our magic is not effective enough against dragons to launch a full-frontal attack. At the very best we’ll be able to hold it back for a few seconds. But it wouldn’t be wise to enrage it.”

 

“And the Dark?” Otabek glances towards her.

 

“Is of no concern for now,” Victor says, “She’s stuck in stone. Unless the dragon breaks her free.”

 

“Will it?” Yuri raises a brow, “It doesn’t seem to have any fucks to give where that She-Dark is concerned.”

 

“I can’t say,” Victor shrugs. “She’s yelling at it like it works for her, though.”

 

“U-um, I don’t think that’s the case,” Startlingly, out of _freaking nowhere,_ it is _Yuuri Katsuki_ who says this. The man appears to have crawled out from under a table, hair all fluffed and glasses crooked, a bloody cut on his lip.

 

“ _Yuuri!_ ” Victor, predictably, squeals like a dolphin and rushes over to cradle Katsuki’s hands, the other hand coming up to stroke his hair. “ _That’s_ where you were hiding! I was so worried about you!” He runs his hand down to Katsuki’s cheek, then thumbs over his cut bottom lip. “Oh dear. You poor thing. Does it hurt?” Then, in a voice just above a whisper, sweet as nectar, “I can kiss it better, if you want.”

 

Katsuki, who never fails to look caught somewhere between alarmed-yet-mildly-confusingly-aroused by Victor’s affections, blushes hot pink all the way to his ears and his neck.

 

“Ah,” Otabek says quietly to Yuri. “The ‘dumb crush’, I assume.”

 

“Ugh,” Yuri groans, loudly, running his palm down his face. “Victor! Stop it with your man-whoring, this is _so_ not the time – should I remind you there’s a motherfucking _dragon_ on the loose!”

 

“A-ah, yes! That’s what I wanted to say before- um-” Katsuki hesitantly breaks away from Victor’s hold. He clears his throat. “The dragon. He’s not working for that Dark fairy. He’s here looking for something for himself.”

 

“And how the heck do _you_ know that?” Yuri scowls at him. Katsuki’s a mere _mortal_ , and not even a mage or a wizard, there is no way-

 

“I can- um-” Katsuki wrings his fingers, uncertainly. “I can hear his thoughts?”

 

“ _Hah?_ ” Yuri glares. “What the fuck did you just say?”

 

“Yurio, stop being rude,” Victor chides. He turns to Katsuki, all soft and fluffy again in an instant. “Yuuri, can you really?”

 

“I- I don’t understand it either,” Katsuki mumbles. “It’s just- ever since the dragon came into the hall, I hear these words. It’s not like complete sentences, just broken phrases. I can’t really work it out, myself.”

 

“Well that’s helpful,” Yuri rolls his eyes.

 

“Stop it,” Victor sharply flicks Yuri’s ears.

 

“Ow-!”

 

“Ah, but, I think I know what he might be looking for,” Katsuki starts to say. “He’s looking for… a prize? He wants something… red and gold, something like that. The dragon keeps thinking ‘red and gold’.”

 

“Red and gold?” Victor hums, “That makes sense. Dragons are hoarders, it probably wants something to add to its collection.”

 

“Are you sure the dragon is not affiliated with the Dark?” Otabek asks Katsuki.

 

“He’s- not working for her, that’s for sure. They seem to know each other though. He’s-” Katsuki glances at the Dark, “Annoyed of her. Tolerates her, at best.”

 

“And you’re definitely not making this shit up?” Yuri raises a brow at him.

 

“ _Hey_ ,” Victor nudges him.

 

Katsuki turns to Yuri, eyes wide. “Why would I be making it up?”

 

Okay. Fine. The human _does_ have a point. That doesn’t mean it’s not _annoying_ that Victor’s stupid crush has now developed some sort of _special ability_ almost as if to spite Yuri, to prove him wrong that this man is anything but Ordinary with a capital O.

 

And, well – it’s also kinda annoyingly awesome, the ability to understand dragons. Even if it’s just a little bit.

 

Yuri is Not Impressed, though. He’s _not._

The dragon is currently scanning the crowds of terrified civilians, mercury eyes narrowed. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be wreaking any havoc or intending to harm anyone, as much as this seems to frustrate the shrieking Dark behind it. In fact, just like Katsuki says, the dragon appears to be in search for- something. But what?

“Red and gold, is that all it’s looking for?” Yuri considers this. “Is it looking for treasure?”

 

“Possibly,” Victor says, “Dragons are known to hoard pretty, shiny things.”

 

“Good thing he doesn’t want to hoard you then,” Yuri side-eyes his mentor, who is dressed in an insultingly sparkly fuschia coat and is, admittedly, too pretty for his own good.

 

“Aww,” Victor coos, “You’re sweet, Yurio.”

 

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

 

“It sounded like one.”

 

“Well, it wasn’t.”

 

Victor clicks his tongue, “You’re such a _tsundere_.”

 

Yuri frowns, “I don’t know what that means.”

 

“It means you’re incredibly honest and truthful,” Victor says, fluttering his lashes. “And totally Knight Commander Altin’s type.”

 

Otabek promptly starts choking behind them.

 

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what it means,” Yuri scowls. He then turns to Otabek, concerned, “Dude, are you okay?”

 

“Mm? Yeah.” Otabek pulls himself together, though he still looks a bit red in the cheeks. “I’m fine.”

 

Yuri pats Otabek’s back, which, curiously, makes Otabek’s cheeks even redder. _Huh._

 

“Um,” Katsuki interrupts them. “Should we be doing something about that?”

 

They all turn to the direction Katsuki is pointing.

 

There, at the back of the hallway, charging towards the dragon whilst brandishing his double swords, shining in all his princely glory, whilst also still managing to pose as he is running, like a _dickbag_ , is Crown Prince Jean-Jacques Leroy.

 

“Halt, dragon!” JJ bellows as he stops right in front of the crowd of civilians, placing himself between them and the dragon. “You will not harm my people! Not over my dead body!”

 

“What,” Otabek grinds out, sounding more irritated than Yuri has ever heard him. “Is he _doing._ ”

 

“Fear not, courtiers, for I, Prince Jean-Jacques Leroy, will protect you with my life!” JJ announces, voice loud and proud, and he turns around to give the crowd a _wink,_ of all things. “I will slay the dragon and save us all, don’t you worry.”

 

“He thinks very highly of himself, doesn’t he?” Victor observes, looking somewhat amused.

 

“Dragon!” JJ continues, pointing to the dragon with his sword. “You better back off now, before I can show you that you’ve messed with the wrong crowd.”

 

“…is he for real?” Victor stage-whispers at Yuri.

 

Yuri snorts, “Yeah. That’s what I said.”

 

“He’s like- so gaudy it hurts,” Victor sighs, “Why are all the hot tops always so douche-y. It’s like a curse.”

 

“Engaged to that one, he is,” Yuri says, shrugging towards Otabek with absolutely zero bitterness. Yup. No bitterness. None at all.

 

“Wow,” Victor whistles, “The Knight Commander sure has weird tastes.”

 

“I know, right?” Yuri says, nodding.

 

“I wonder what that says about you.” Victor smiles.

 

“Huh?” Yuri blinks at him. “What do you mean?”

 

“Uh- guys?” Katsuki Yuuri squeaks at them.

 

“Hm? What is it, honeybuns?” Victor says.

 

Yuri is about to scoff at that _ridiculous_ pet-name, when all of a sudden, they see it.

 

“Oh,” Yuri says. “Shit.”

 

“Yeah,” Victor agrees. “That’s not good.”

 

“Unhand me, you foul creature!” Prince JJ – previously swinging his sword acting all high and mighty – is now captured within the dragon’s grasp. Both the prince’s swords are on the ground, his arms trapped next to his body, as the dragon holds him up close to its face, peering at him with large metallic eyes with a look of… delight?

 

And then everything all clicks into place in Yuri’s mind because, of _course_ , how could he not have seen it?

 

Because what is JJ if nothing but shiny and pretty?

 

And what else could red and gold be but _royal blood._

“The _Prince_ ,” Katsuki says, bewildered. “The dragon’s found what it’s looking for.”

 

Otabek is already sprinting off towards them, zig-zagging through the mess of Dark Beasts and knights, sword-in-hand.

 

“Well, as much as he is your love-rival, he _is_ King Alain’s son. It would be terrible if anything bad happens to him,” Victor muses. “Shall we help, then?”

 

“What are you saying? Of course we’re helping. I don’t like him but that doesn’t mean I want him to _die,_ ” Yuri frowns.

 

Victor grins. “Always knew you had a pure heart.”

 

“Yeah,” Yuri scoffs, “Tell that to Otabek later when I _accidentally_ drop his precious prince on his self-important ass.”

 

“Will do,” Victor chuckles. “Follow my lead.”

 

The dragon is spreading its massive wings, preparing for flight; the Prince held intact in its right fist, shouting relentlessly at the dragon. Just as the dragon bends on its hind legs, preparing to jump, Victor holds out a hand – and above the dragon, the ceiling of the hall becomes covered in several metres of thick ice. Almost like an upside down skating rink. The dragon is thus prevented from its initial plan of flying out through the ceiling, growling at the ice as it tries and fails to claw at it with one hand.

 

The dragon drops back down to the ground, snapping its gaze towards Victor, narrowing its eyes dangerously.

 

“Yikes,” Yuri says, “Don't think it likes you very much.”

 

“No, I don't suppose it does,” Victor says.

 

The dragon is about to charge at Victor, when suddenly, a sword flies out at it, hitting the dragon on its right wrist and spearing through the tendons there. Yuri looks to the source of that sword and – ah, of course. It’s Knight Commander Altin, to the rescue of his fiancé. Otabek picks up another sword from the ground, where JJ has dropped them, and throws it like a javelin at the dragon’s wrist once again, this time, the snap of the dragon’s tendon as it breaks audible even from a distance.

 

 _Shit. What a badass._ Yuri cannot help but admire Otabek’s athleticism.

 

The fist that is holding JJ loosens immediately, and the Prince begins to wriggle himself free.

 

However, the dragon simply shifts JJ from its right hand to its left, much to JJ’s chagrin. It roars, loudly, shaking the whole hall, before it opens its wings and flies back towards the other end of the hall where it is out of Otabek’s range. The strong winds from the dragon’s indoor flight almost blows Yuri off of his feet, if not for Victor grabbing him by the waist and crouching him down. Katsuki, Yuri notices, is similarly saved by the same maneuver on Victor’s other side.

 

The Dark, who has quieted down for a while, begins to screech at the dragon again now that it is back within her vicinity.

 

“I told you to kill those damn faeries! If only you had killed Nikiforov, we’d already be out of here!” She snarls. “Instead, you couldn’t fly out because of a stupid ice trick! And now you’ve lost use of your good hand to some dumb human, whose fault do you think that is?”

 

The dragon hisses at her, snapping its jaws.

 

“If I were her,” Katsuki mumbles quietly, “I would stop talking right about now.”

 

“And what kind of idiotic move was it to not break me free?” The Dark continues yelling, “I could’ve helped identify the Prince and transported us out of here if only you just _listened_ to me and _killed a damn fairy_ , I lost _two_ brothers because of you, you _useless reptile-”_

 

“Ah,” Katsuki says, nervously, “She really shouldn’t have said that.”

 

The Dark is still not finished, “You’re supposed to work _under_ me, even a _slave_ is more useful than you, you slimy, cold-blooded—”

 

It happens in a blink of eye.

 

One moment, the Dark is still screaming at the top of her lungs, cursing and spitting at the dragon from where she is stuck in stone. The next, the Dark’s head is rolling on the floor, red hair splayed along the spray of blood, her body still stuck upright in stone, whilst the dragon wipes its bloody tail on the marble floors.

 

“Ick,” Katsuki says, looking pale and on the verge of throwing up.

 

“Well,” Yuri says, staring at the gore, “She did ask it to kill a fairy.”

 

“Definitely doesn’t work for her,” Victor says, conclusively.

 

“Ahhhhhhh!” says JJ, who is still swinging in the grasps of the dragon’s left hand.

 

“Oh, right.” Victor says, as though only just now remembering the captured Prince. “Can’t have that.” Victor raises a palm, and the same rocks as the ones that held the Dark come up to trap both of the dragon’s feet in stone.

 

The dragon looks down at its feet, tilts its head, wriggles its limbs, and all of a sudden the rocks fall away from its legs like nothing but rubble.

 

“Huh,” Victor says, blinking. “Sort of knew direct contact like that wouldn’t work. Eh, it was worth a shot.”

 

“ _Victor!_ ” Katsuki suddenly yells at Victor and shoves at him, sending him crashing into Yuri and all them crashing to the floor – which, _ow_ , what the fuck is that about? – right before the dragon swipes at the three of them with one of its wings and barely misses them.

 

“Whoa, _nice,_ Yuuri,” Victor compliments, ruffling the human’s hair affectionately.

 

The dragon is hovering its neck over them, its silver eyes staring them down. It huffs, making a rough sound at the back of its throat.

 

“Oh,” Katsuki says, blinking rapidly. “Um. He’s saying to let him go.”

 

“Well, no shit!” Yuri snaps.

 

“Uhh- He wants us to know… the Prince will not be harmed,” Katsuki continues. “If we let them go, no harm will come to him at all.”

 

“Riiight, ‘cause he’s the prize. Makes sense,” Yuri scoffs. He remembers the way the humans at the port had trapped him in a wooden cage – wooden, not iron. _No marks on the product._ Yeah, Yuri knows how that works well enough.

 

“Hey! I am no one’s property!” JJ shouts. “Especially not yours, you—you _dragon!_ Put me _down_ , I said!”

 

The dragon only tilts its head at the Prince with wide eyes like he finds JJ’s protesting downright _adorable_.

 

“I actually don’t think it’s lying about not hurting him,” Victor says, watching the dragon curiously. “Still, though. Hey! Yoo-hoo~ Dragon! We can't let you go. King Alain would be very upset if his son gets captured; and by a _dragon_ , of all things. It’s terribly cliché.”

 

The dragon huffs at that, hot breath blowing over all three of them.

 

“What did it say?” Victor turns to Katsuki.

 

“Um,” Katsuki looks confused, “He says ‘Fine’.”

 

“Fine?” Victor blinks, “Really?”

 

Yuri is equally in disbelief when the dragon turns its back towards the three of them, crouching its body down – and then Yuri suddenly _panics._ Because that move- he’s _seen_ that move before, and he recognizes it as the position the dragon went into – _right before it whipped the Dark’s head off with its tail._

 

“ _Move!_ ” Yuri pushes at both Victor and Katsuki, pulling magic up his arms, thinking _blow!_ A gust of strong winds explodes from his palms, bursting out and blowing his mentor and the human backwards, out of range of the dragon’s tail. Yuri begins to scramble after them as well, but it’s already too late. Yuri _knows_ it’s too late because he’s managed to push the other two away only barely just in time, and he can already see the shadow of the dragon’s massive tail looming from behind him—

 

“Yuri-!”

 

A large whack to the side of Yuri’s body sends the fairy flying across the hall until he collides into a wall, head-first, his small frame dropping to the ground along with pieces of the plaster. Yuri hacks and wheezes, tasting blood on his lips, and the pain that blooms from his side with every breath definitely indicates a few broken ribs. Yuri tries to keep his eyes open, but his vision is starting to cloud with black dots above and below, and _goddamnit_ everything _hurts._

 

“ _Yuri!_ ”

 

Ah. That voice. Yuri knows that voice.

 

A warmth spreads in his chest at the first touch of those hands on him—

 

_Warm._

_Like his eyes._

_Warm. Bright._

_I see you, I see you, I see you now._

 

\--And then everything goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-dun-dunnnnn !!
> 
> I really don't mean to keep on doing cliffhangers, but it's just the right time to cut off the chapter sorry ^^''  
> Thank you to everyone who is still reading this, I really appreciate all of your support. Let me know what you think about this chapter too!
> 
> If all goes well, next update will *hopefully* be within two weeks (no promises though!) xx


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